


Actuality

by Pride_of_Six



Category: Outlast (Video Games)
Genre: Accidental Knotting, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Angst, Dubious Consent, Knotting, M/M, Mutilation, Other, Scent Marking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2018-09-12 16:14:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 44,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9080032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pride_of_Six/pseuds/Pride_of_Six
Summary: Eddie Gluskin is an Alpha and Waylon Park is his Beta best friend. They accidentally mate one night and despite Waylon not being a child-bearing Omega, they forget to be unhappy about it. Waylon is from a very wealthy family which seeks to preserve themselves and Eddie is a relatively poor loner but he is unwavering in his dedication to his mate's needs. Eddie begins to want more and more and mutilation ensues.*The 'Rape' exists because of the different sexes' self control, but I feel it's better to be safe





	1. Awareness

**Author's Note:**

> For reference, I don't have many of the details sorted for this AU, but it should be pretty straightforward if you're familiar with the A/B/O Dynamics.
> 
> Alphas are generally the dominant ones and they have dog-like genitalia with a 'knot' above the balls which inflates and locks them inside when they're getting busy. They have a heightened sense of smell and generally mate with Omegas because it's traditional and they're biologically more compatible.  
> Betas are basic, normal humans. They generally partner up with other Betas for the sake of simplicity and live lives similar to monogamous humans in our world; but they can also mate with either an Alpha or an Omega if they're inclined. These relationships are unorthodox but have gained some acceptance of their legitimacy.  
> Omegas are generally the submissive ones and they produce 'slick' as a form of natural lubricant when they're aroused that makes them more compatible with Alphas. They also have a heightened sense of smell but go through bi-yearly events called 'heats' which make them release an incredibly appealing odour to Alphas demonstrating their fertility.
> 
> Enjoy!

Eddie was roused from his sleep to the soft sound of sobbing. He blearily opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. There was a gentle thrumming in his pulse that told him he’d knotted someone earlier. He was in his shabby old apartment at Mount Massive Apartments. He groaned to life and lazily drew his eyes to the figure of another person next to him. Their presence confused Eddie because he had been exclusively a bachelor for quite some time now. Whoever they were must’ve been special if they went this far, though.

Now that he was feeling semi-conscious, Eddie shifted carefully to get a better look at his Omega.

They had gorgeous, short brown hair with little tufts of curls in it where it had been ruffled during their apparent mating. They also had a deliciously curvy body with a strong build. He grinned lasciviously, admiring their connected bodies—their legacies would look amazing!

After Eddie was finished admiring his mates’ backside, he realised that the man was still quietly crying to himself. Perhaps Eddie had been too rough? He honestly could remember very little of the obviously eventful night. He had always considered himself a very considerate and gentle lover, though. Surely, it couldn’t have been that bad.

He felt awkward having clearly forgotten most of the past twenty-four hours but the urge to console the man he was still firmly inside overwhelmed any trepidation, “Darling,” he placated, laying a tentative hand on their shoulders.

They froze up entirely and went silent at his touch.

Eddie frowned at that, still wishing he could see the face of the mate his hindbrain chose, “C’mon, sweetheart,” he soothed, “I’m not going to hurt you.” Eddie realised that maybe he already had—unwittingly, “I-I know the claiming must’ve been harsh. I promise you, though, I’m not really like that. You’ll see.” He felt like maybe he was overreaching a bit already throwing out a promise or two but he was really excited. He’d spent so much time alone or having just the occasional hook-up at the gymnasium that the prospect of a mate left him absolutely euphoric!

The Omega didn’t respond to his soothing. Eddie sighed, “Could you turn around for me, maybe?” he didn’t want to patronise his Omega—he wasn’t that kind of Alpha—but he was so excited to see his mate. Eddie was sure that no matter what he would be absolutely perfect; the perfect mother (father? Omega? He could never tell with all the political correct terms nowadays) for his children. Eddie mightn’t have been the best-off Alpha but he would sure as hell find a way to provide for his mate. No matter what.

The Omega turned slowly, but obediently. Eddie hoped that the reluctance would go away with time as they got to know each other. Eddie once scorned the whole mating process but now he thought it could turn out to be quite romantic. As they turned, the muscles that were enveloping Eddie’s knot inside of him squeezed to create the most wonderful feeling. They settled into a position with Eddie between the legs of his mate, with them lying on their back with their legs spread wide. It was beautiful. He sighed blissfully as he studied the features of his mate’s face…

“Waylon?!”

His… ‘Mate?’ crumpled at his recognition. Eddie almost took it personally before he remembered he had to take care of the man. The facts didn’t add up, though, and Eddie was struggling to comprehend everything that was going on.

“But… you aren’t an Omega?” Eddie asked, blinking dumbly at the beautiful face of Waylon Park. He had always secretly wanted his friend to present as an Omega; he had the bone structure and raw beauty for it. But, alas, the time for presenting had passed some time ago and he reluctantly accepted that he hadn’t presented as Alpha or Omega and had thus become a versatile Beta. Eddie’s mind soared suddenly with the possibility that Waylon had simply presented late and all this time it had been destiny that they mate. He was without a doubt the best Eddie could have ever asked for as a mate.

When Waylon shook his head mutely at the question Eddie remained as confused as ever.

“Then how did we…” he looked at where his knot was stuck firmly up in Waylon’s ass and realised immediately why the man had been sobbing. There were two prominent bite marks on each of Waylon’s thighs; there was a very thin, but still there, sheen of blood on Waylon’s skin below the waist; and most noticeably, Eddie’s knot was tugging taut on the raw flesh of Waylon’s pucker and causing the sensitive skin to begin to tear as the still fully-inflated organ tried to force its way out of the tight opening. “Oh, shi—”  
Eddie unceremoniously shifted his hips flush against Waylon’s pelvis to relieve the pressure and almost whited out himself as the muscles contracted and then loosened around his manhood.

“Fu—Waylon—” Eddie didn’t know what to say at the best of times and now he was stuck on the brink of ecstasy inside the man of his dreams with no memory of the events leading up to their coupling. He felt a shock of pleasure course through him and rested his head on Waylon’s shoulder to ground himself, “Say something, darling,” he had no clue if the man still hated being called that after what evidently transpired last night but damned if Eddie wasn’t going to go for anything he could at the moment.

“F-f—” Waylon stuttered a few consonants, shivering. Eddie looked around for the doona he usually had on his bed but realised proudly that all of the bedsheets had fallen from the mattress at some point during their… mating? All that remained were the pillows. Eddie rubbed Waylon’s arms gently to encourage warmth. “Fuck… you knotted me.” Waylon hissed, pointing out the obvious.

Eddie scoffed, “Well, yeah. I could figure as much, darling. But what transpired for this,” he gestured vaguely between them, “to happen?”

“I don’t know,” Waylon sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face, “I came over for dinner because I hadn’t seen you in a couple weeks. We ate, we talked, and then…”

“I knotted you.” Eddie stated incredulously. “Damn, I’m good.” He grinned, hoping the joke might lighten the mood for a second.

Waylon laughed weakly in spite of himself, “Dude. How long is it gonna take until you can take that thing out of me?”

Eddie felt affronted and wanted to sulk that Waylon wasn’t trying to keep the Alpha’s knot inside of him as long as possible. But the urge to complain was far weaker than the need to protect Waylon, who appeared to be hurt. Which brought Eddie back to the issue at hand. “It could be another half hour til I can take it out without hurting you. I’d prefer to wait longer so there’s no risk. I’m still confused, though. You aren’t an Omega.”

Waylon palmed his forehead dramatically and Eddie chuckled before carefully righting himself so he didn’t tug on Waylon. “No, I am most certainly not an Omega. Beta all the way.” He looked absolutely wrecked physically, but his spirit was the same as ever as he fist pumped the air. “Casual sex is one thing, Ed,” his mate sounded like he was reprimanding him but Eddie was still caught five minutes ago in the moment of realising that he knotted Waylon Park! His Waylon Park, “but you knotted me. As in actually, properly, knotted a Beta.” Waylon very gently moved his hips to demonstrate and Eddie wanted to go mental and pound his mate to establish that he most certainly did knot the Beta. But he wasn’t some knot-headed Alpha and he would let Waylon have control for now that he most certainly needed it.

“Mm,” Eddie hummed in agreement and Waylon spluttered in disbelief.

“Eddie! Come on, man. You knotted a Beta.”

Eddie couldn’t be bothered trying to follow Waylon’s speech any longer and leant down to place a kiss to Waylon’s lips. “I knotted you…” he murmurs as an afterthought into Waylon’s mouth as he loses himself momentarily in his mate.

“Dude,” Waylon groans and Eddie stops his ministrations with a forlorn sigh. “I am a Beta. I am not built to handle an Alpha mate.” Waylon points it out, looking vulnerable as he does so. Eddie wants to roll his eyes.

“Well if what happened between us is any indication…” Eddie gently taps Waylon’s beautiful hip bones to bring attention to the member still lodged inside him, “I think you’re built perfectly fine to handle me.”

Eddie feels like he’s being suave with how he’s handling things. Waylon seems about to press the issue some more before he lets it go and gently says, “Yeah, Ed.”

“Please call me Big John when we’re in bed together,” Eddie requests cheekily to break the tension and Waylon scoffs.

“Big John? More like Tiny Tim.”

“Yeah?” Eddie challenges, and gently shifts his hips to prove the point.

Waylon winces and Eddie immediately feels terrible but then Waylon laughs out loud, “Got you! Come on, man. You’ve lost your feel for my acting it seems.”

They laugh together for a moment before Eddie tests the knot again to see if it’ll slip out. It’s still too firm but neither man is particularly displeased with the fact. “Just so you know, Waylon,” Eddie says seriously, “I don’t have any regrets about this. Not one.”

Waylon gives him a hesitant smile and repeats the sentiment, “Neither.”

It’s a weird irony that Eddie had always envisioned his perfect mate to be an Omega and yet he ended up with a Beta but still got the perfect mate. He only hoped Waylon felt the same and that the trepidation he was showing towards them was because of the sudden and unexpected nature of their relationship. Additionally, Alpha/Beta pairings were far less common than Alpha/Omega pairings; they were a bit unorthodox. Eddie had no doubt that once he demonstrated to Waylon just how good an Alpha he could be that his friend-turned-mate would feel more confident and secure regarding their relationship.

Eddie tugged again after a few minutes daydreaming and he felt his knot shift.

“Waylon, darling, I think I can get it out now,” he warned the other man and he visibly braced himself before Eddie began to gently shift his hips back. The smaller man’s wince grew the further Eddie pushed but he could feel his knot slowly slipping through the raw tissue.

Finally, the engorged organ fell from the tight embrace of Waylon’s ass with a wet squelch. The rest of Eddie’s manhood quickly followed suit without the bulge of his knot to lock it in. The Alpha sighed as he watched a mix of Waylon’s blood and Eddie’s semen leak from the Beta’s wrecked ass. A deep, primal part of Eddie was disappointed that his seed hadn’t ‘taken’ in his mate, but the thought was easy enough to ignore. Male Beta’s mightn’t be child-bearing, but… they’d figure something out, for sure. After all, his mate was Waylon freaking Park. If there was anyone in the world Eddie would fight tooth and nail to keep it would definitely be his best friend. Eddie got lost in himself as he beheld his mate in all of his beauty.

“Oi, Eddie,” Waylon interrupted, “Think you could get me a damp cloth or something?”

Oh, right. Eddie might love the mess he’d made of Waylon because it clearly marked him as his own. And if Waylon were an Omega he’d bask in the scent of Eddie for similar reasons… but he was a Beta. To him it wasn’t much more than a sticky mess of fluid.

Waylon reached out both of his smaller hands and took Eddie’s larger one in his grasp. “I only ask because I think I might be hurt. I want to make sure I’m not still bleeding.” He brought the larger man’s hand to his lips and gently kissed each knuckle. The Alpha preened under the attention before removing himself from Waylon’s side on the mattress to retrieve a towel for his mate.

Eddie stood by and watched intently as Waylon cleaned himself up. Eddie was still heavily aroused—which was normal following a mating, no rest for the wicked after all—but Waylon couldn’t exactly reciprocate in his current condition.

“I think I should probably see a doctor,” Waylon pointed out softly after removing as much of the dried blood in his pelvic region as he could.

“Oh, darling…” Eddie’s voice was strained, “I hate to think of you suffering without me. I’ll take you. There’s a clinic on the block.”

Eddie grabbed his keys and was prepared to scoop Waylon up and march out the door when he remembered neither of them were wearing clothing. He spied a haphazard pile of the pair’s clothing in a corner of the room and saw that both sets had been ripped during the mating. Eddie chortled to himself as he was hit with an image of himself ripping off his own clothing and then Waylon’s with his bare hands. He had to admire past-Eddie’s enthusiasm.

“Did you bring a spare set of clothes?” Eddie asked dumbly and Waylon looked unamused.

“For dinner? Ah, yes, of course.”

Eddie harrumphed. “You can borrow some of mine. It’s just a short walk.”

“… Did you say walk?”

 

After an awkward half-hour of Eddie dressing a blushing Waylon with his hard-on swinging freely and then himself, the pair emerged from the apartment. The Beta was leaning heavily on Eddie as his legs were still weak.

“You’re up late today, Eddie,” his neighbour, an older Alpha named Frank (figures that people would be in the hallway just when Eddie wanted privacy), commented as they stood waiting for the elevator. They were on the third floor and usually Eddie would walk the stairs, but he was being considerate of his mate currently.

“Morning, Frank,” Eddie hissed through gritted teeth. Call it the residual instincts following the mating, but Eddie hated that there was another Alpha anywhere close to his mate at the moment.

“What’s—oh.” Frank saw Waylon clutching the other side of Eddie and nodded in understanding. “Nice. Alright.” He picked up on the obvious signals from Eddie and walked into his apartment as the elevator pinged on their floor.

There was already two other people in the elevator and Eddie reluctantly stepped inside with Waylon’s encouragement. He wedged the Beta between himself and the wall and used his larger form to shield him from view. The strangers just stood awkwardly as Eddie glared at them. “Whores.” He muttered quietly under his breath so only Waylon heard.

Waylon sighed, “This is gonna be a long walk.”

 

Half of a block later and Eddie and Waylon had made it to the clinic. At one point in the journey, Eddie had to fully carry Waylon because his legs were giving out—much to Eddie’s delight—but the Beta was walking on his own again for the path leading up to clinic. As soon as they stepped inside they were ushered to a private treatment room by the receptionist. Mating was a very significant deal in their society, particularly between Alphas and Omegas but any combination of the other sexes were also of considerable importance.

“Are you alright, darling?”

Waylon nodded mutely. He’d been far quieter since leaving the apartment, but at least he hadn’t cried since Eddie had first woken. Eddie just hoped his mate was as fine with their coupling as he was saying he was.

Doctor Trager, a balding, older Alpha man with a few clumps of grey hair clinging to his wrinkly scalp strolled into the treatment room with a visible grin behind his surgical mask.

“Ed, man, you finally found your bitch!” he remarked and Waylon cringed, “Congratulations, man!”

Eddie growled at the doctor, “I need you to check him out and make sure he’s okay. It wasn’t completely smooth.”

“C’mon, Ed, Omega’s are built to take it,” he said boisterously as he approached where Waylon was sitting on the medical table. As he sat he frowned and took several audible, tentative sniffs through the surgical mask, “Shit man, Beta’s aren’t though. Sorry about that; I just assumed.”

Eddie stood by with his arms crossed as the doctor looked over his mate. When he inspected Waylon’s tender hips and ass Eddie growled loudly and unhappily, but he knew that this was necessary. After a thorough examination, Trager gave Waylon a cream to apply around his opening to aid the healing and told him he didn’t think there was any need for stitches. It’d heal in about a week unless, “there was any more intense pressure on the damaged area”. He gave Eddie a serious look when he said the final thing before leaving the new couple alone in the treatment room.

“Well it’s not as bad as I thought it was,” Waylon coughed after a period of Eddie staring at him in silence.

“I’m so sorry I hurt you,” Eddie apologised as he knelt in front of Waylon. He was tall enough that kneeling before the table he was still about in-line with Waylon’s belly. He took a hold of each of Waylon’s wrists and gently soothed him. “I’ll make sure I have more control than that in the future. I really think we should contact your parents, though. They’re probably worried sick about you.”

Waylon’s parents were an incredibly well-off Alpha-Omega couple. Waylon had already caused some disturbance in the family when he didn’t present and remained a Beta as his siblings took that as a sign of weakness in him when they all presented as either Alphas or Omegas. His parents were the only ones who remained accommodating to him, but there was no telling what they’d say if he turned up home to the family estate with a penniless Alpha on his arm and decreed him his mate.

“I’m not sure that’s the best thing to do,” Waylon replied honestly, biting his lip.

Eddie looked confused for a moment before a rare scowl overtook his features, “Are you ashamed of me?” he whispered it with so much vehemence Waylon was rendered speechless for a moment and Eddie stood suddenly and paced aggressively back and forth in front of him. “You’re embarrassed to tell your family I’m your Alpha. Is it because I’m poor?” he levelled Waylon with a seething glare. The Beta was absolutely shocked at the sudden outburst from his friend-turned-mate. It came out of absolutely nowhere and it terrified Waylon.

“Ed—”

“You think I’m not good enough for you?” Eddie was flaring his nostrils and his chest heaved dramatically, “You’d prefer some other Alpha? Darling? Whore!” he spat the last word and appeared to be about to start rampaging around the treatment room when Waylon took action and limped over to the furious-for-no-reason Alpha.

“Eddie,” he said his mates’ name softly, placing a tentative hand on his chest to feel his heart beating wildly in his ribcage. Waylon wanted to yell at Eddie and slap some sense into the man; make him apologise for accusing him of anything. But he knew that not only would his efforts to threaten Eddie be laughable, but they’d also be counterproductive as the Alpha would just get more worked up. The Alpha’s powerful chest continued heaving as Waylon gently stroked his chest. His eyes were looking down and directly into Waylon’s soul with an intimidating fire in them. Waylon pushed through the natural instinct to pull away and hide from the obviously threatening man. This was his mate, now. “You know I’m yours, Ed. Only yours.” Waylon assured him and Eddie narrowed his eyes distrustfully.

Waylon’s desire to slap the man until he understood skyrocketed but he ignored it as he reached out for his mate both physically and emotionally.

“Look at me, Ed. I’m not with anyone else, I’m with you. Breathe.” He commanded, bringing one of Eddie’s hands to his side to help accentuate the point and also because Waylon still needed some help standing up. After a minute Eddie’s breathing began to even out again and his face morphed from anger to sorrow. “I’m cautious about telling my parents because I’m still injured and, above all else, they’ll want me to be safe. If they see me like this I know they’ll veto whatever chance we have at being accepted as mates for my own safety. Call me selfish but I want to keep both of you in my life.”

Eddie put his other arm around Waylon to steady him and rested their foreheads together, “Of course, darling. I’m so sorry I reacted that way. It’s an Alpha thing.” He explained sheepishly.

“You know you can’t just use that as an excuse to get out of everything,” Waylon scolded and the pair chuckled before falling into a comfortable silence.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

 

They got the all-clear and further instructions on what to do and what not to do from Doctor Trager.

They headed back to Eddie’s apartment and then stood awkwardly in the entrance hall. By this point Eddie could recall most of the previous night’s events. Yesterday’s dinner remnants remained on the counter, spoiled, and the kitchen was a mess. Eddie suddenly realised that maybe he wouldn’t be able to provide for his mate in the way he always imagined he could.

“Uh, Waylon?”

“Wow, you used my name. It must be serious.” Waylon laughed to himself, “What’s wrong?”

Eddie looked embarrassed as he considered how to tell Waylon. “You remember last night now, right?” Waylon’s blush was answer enough, “Well, this probably doesn’t surprise you, but I don’t actually eat like that all the time.”

Waylon understood what Eddie wasn’t saying. Waylon was born from a rich family and Eddie knew it. When he came over for dinner last night the Alpha spent more money than he usually would (or could afford, for all intents and purposes) on their dinner.

He barely had anything stored in his fridge other than some old store-bought pizza and a few miscellaneous items. “I also don’t have a spare bedroom, if you’d prefer we sleep apart while you heal. We’ll have to share. I mean, if you aren’t comfortable with that yet I can sleep on the floor out here or something. Whatever you want.”

Waylon interrupted his embarrassing rambling, “I don’t mind sharing a bed, Eddie. I trust you a lot, believe it or not,” he smiled at his mate, “And I’m sure whatever you provide me to eat, I’ll manage. I’ll get my driver to pop by sometime tomorrow and drop me my wallet.”

Eddie bristled a little at the prospect of his mate paying for him instead of the other way around; but he was progressive, and ultimately it would probably make his mate more comfortable, so he allowed Waylon to take the reins on that particular issue. “Alright, darling, that’s fine. I can probably repair the tears in your clothing to an extent, but for now you’ll have to make do wearing mine.” Eddie didn’t mention how it made his heart swell when he saw Waylon walking around with one of his enormous shirt hanging loosely around him. Eddie may have forgotten to give Waylon a mating bite to his shoulder in their first coupling, but he’d remedy that in due course. And for now, he could make sure everyone knew who he belonged to anyway.

“Okay. I’m going to have a quick shower,” Waylon informed his mate.

“Call if you need me,” Eddie said immediately, “Don’t hurt yourself. I’ll prepare dinner for when you come out.”

 

After an awkward dinner in which Eddie presented Waylon with reheated pizza and Waylon pretended to eat it with gusto, the pair retired to bed. Eddie had quickly exchanged the soiled sheets for his only other set while Waylon was in his shower, but the room still had their lingering mix of scents. Eddie realised that Waylon probably couldn’t smell it like he could, being a Beta and therefore less sensitive to scents.

“Did you put on the ointment Doctor Trager gave you?” Eddie checked and Waylon nodded as he slipped carefully into bed. 

He was still wearing one of Eddie’s large grey shirts and he was also unwittingly wearing a pair of Eddie’s underwear as shorts. It might still be the recurring feelings from their mating, but Eddie found the image to be incredibly hot. And who could judge him? They were mates, after all. Waylon turned to face his mate standing adjacent to their bed and laughed. “Come on, man.” He gestured to Eddie’s groin and the Alpha realised he was sporting a pretty impressive erection tenting his boxers. Unlike Waylon, the Alpha didn’t sleep wearing a shirt. He kind of wished Waylon followed the same idea, but he guessed it was the same difference if the shirt he was sleeping in was Eddie’s.

“Apologies,” the Alpha breathed, sliding into bed and aligning his body alongside his Beta. “It’s an Alpha thing.” He said cheekily.

“Oh? You’ll have to teach me about these ‘Alpha things’, hm?” Waylon reached between them and palmed Eddie’s groin, making the larger man start and splutter a little.

“Darling! Come on, we shouldn’t do anything strenuous when you’re still injured.” He tried pulling away from the Beta despite the overwhelming magnetic force pulling him to the other man.

Waylon scoffed, and grabbed a hold of the waistband of Eddie’s boxers, “Calm down, Alpha,” he lowered his voice to a husky timbre and Eddie stopped struggling. He wasn’t a masochist, after all. “Just let me take care of this.”

He tugged the Alpha’s boxers down so the waistband was around his knees, exposing the enormous, throbbing organ. Eddie watched Waylon’s face closely as he gently tugged at the Alpha’s cock. His hand slid from the root where his knot was lightly inflated just above his balls all the way to the dewy head. Waylon’s ministrations were agonisingly slow and Eddie began to gently thrust his pelvis up into Waylon’s hand only to be stilled by the man’s other hand firmly on his hip.

“Fuck, Waylon, darling—” he muttered unintelligibly. “Don’t tease me.” He warned.

“Or what?” the Beta challenged carefully and Eddie was prepared to growl back a response when Waylon picked up the pace of his movements and he keened instead. The Beta’s tiny wrist rotated as it reached the head and he gathered the precum there before slathering it over the rest of the member as he pumped it more quickly.

Eddie began to reach purposefully towards Waylon’s pelvis—just out of reach—but the Beta intercepted his hand and redirected it to cover Waylon’s stilled hand on Eddie’s cock.

The larger hand enveloped Waylon’s tightly and he began using the other man’s hand to jack himself off with a brutal pace. 

He opened his eyes which had closed in ecstasy and looked, half-lidded, into his mate’s eyes as he continued to strip his cock.

“Are you going to cum, Alpha?” Waylon whispered for the moment; it was obvious that yes, Eddie was going to cum.

His tongue lolled comically outside of his mouth as his hips seemed to rebel against Waylon’s restraint and began to pound into the passage formed by Waylon’s and his hands. 

He nodded and grunted deliriously at Waylon as his climax rapidly approached.

“Fuck—fuck—oooh!” Eddie started and came as Waylon’s free hand outside of Eddie’s grasp suddenly fondled his balls and knot. He shot pearly ropes of white over himself and kept Waylon’s hand in his own stroking himself through the intense orgasm. Eddie loosened his grip after his member began to feel overstimulated but Waylon continued to stroke him persistently. “Darling—!” he gasped as Waylon gathered the remnants of Eddie’s release that clung to the head of his member and then brought it to his lips and licked it from his fingers. The Alpha growled and surged over to lick into his mate’s mouth, “The things you do to me.” He rumbled against Waylon’s lips. Eddie carried on tasting the various corners of the Beta’s mouth and was startled when the man gasped and came over himself, having been stroking his own neglected member following Eddie’s climax.

“God, Ed, right back at you,” he sighed and let his mouth get plundered again by his mate with a renewed vigour that gradually dissipated as the pair began to succumb to exhaustion. 

Whatever happened as a result of their mating, they’d always have these intimate moments; and nothing could change that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hopefully that was an alright start. I love this pairing and I'm planning to write many more fics in the near future involving them but I'm still testing the A/B/O universe with them. Any constructive feedback is very welcome!


	2. Ascertainment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waylon makes some assurances. We meet another character. More sexy times. Plot will come later.

The following day, Eddie awoke with a blissful smile on his face and reached across the mattress to touch his Waylon. All he got was a handful of bedsheets and he scrutinised the room only to find his bed empty, much to his dismay.

“Darling?” he called gently. When he got no response he suddenly sat bolt upright with the daunting idea of Waylon leaving him. Why would he leave? Had Eddie offended the Beta in some way? Perhaps it wasn’t something Eddie did, just the foolish Beta wanting to do something to prove himself like all Beta’s did and ending up hurting himself in his current state. The idea was almost more painful than that of Waylon leaving him and the Alpha suddenly bristled. “Darling!” he called again. He quickly pulled on a pair of board shorts that were strewn on the floor before practically leaping to the doorway to survey the rest of his tiny apartment—his mate deserved bigger.

Waylon was nowhere to be seen and Eddie wanted to punch himself bloody for sleeping in and letting the man leave. Right under his nose, too…

Suddenly the apartment door opened and Waylon walked in partway through a conversation with another man who came in after him, “—so you can’t tell anyone, Miles. Not yet. You hear me?”

Miles. That was the name of the whore who was stealing his mate away. Before Eddie could quite catch what he was doing, he’d marched over to the pair and put himself bodily between them, butting the stranger further from Waylon with his chest as he crossed his arms disapprovingly.

“Who the fuck is this?” he asked, back to Waylon to keep an eye on the stranger. He knew his name, of course, thanks to Waylon’s little titbit of conversation coming in the door… but Eddie wanted to know more. Wanted to know why the hell he was worthy of Waylon leaving not just Eddie’s bed but also the safety of the apartment in his current state.

“Eddie, this is my driver. Miles.” Waylon explained, marching around Eddie’s massive form to scold him. “He was dropping off my wallet and some clothes.” He held up a small backpack Eddie recognised from their days together in school that supposedly held the items in question. “Shit, man you can’t just get mad at every little thing that doesn’t go your way and blame it on an ‘Alpha thing’.”

Eddie felt mad but he knew that Waylon was right. Of course he was. So he sulked instead and focused all his negative energy towards Miles. The man who was standing smugly in front of him with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“What’re you looking at?” Eddie growled as Waylon left into the bedroom to deposit his bag and change into his own clothing.

“Waylon’s got you so whipped, dude.” Miles laughed and Eddie seethed—not because of the taunt, in-fact the idea of Waylon acting dominant was adorable beyond his imagination—because Eddie suddenly smelled that the man was an Omega. An Omega joking about an Alpha being a pushover was sickeningly ironic.

“Isn’t that ‘Master Waylon’ to you?” Eddie responded smoothly with a scowl before moving away from the entrance to stand guard by the bedroom door.

Miles looked ready to say something back but clearly he couldn’t think of a good comeback and just stood there in the entrance looking suitably chagrined.

Waylon finally emerged from the bedroom dressed in his own clothing and Eddie realised quickly that he had mixed feelings on the matter. On the downside, Waylon was no longer wearing Eddie’s own clothing—leaving him with that much less of Eddie’s claim written on him. It made Eddie almost want to ‘accidentally’ damage the clothes he had been brought so that he had to rely on the Alpha’s wardrobe again. He had looked absolutely adorable wearing one of Eddie’s too-large shirts. On the upside, however, Eddie was reminded that Waylon’s choice in clothing was always extra tight-fitting. It was a wonder he’d lasted this many years without his self-control snapping and accidentally knotting Waylon sooner. He raked his eyes slowly over the Beta’s form as he stood by the door at Eddie’s side. His expensive white t-shirt and slacks accentuated his gorgeously magnificent bone structure.

It was a bizarre enigma but for now Eddie could care less as his hands gravitated to Waylon’s hips and pulled the Beta so his back was flush against Eddie’s front. It was a delicious feeling.

Miles scoffed from where he had now perched himself at the kitchen counter, “Alphas.”

Eddie was otherwise engaged though as he knelt slightly so he could bury his nose in Waylon’s hair and smell the delicious scent of his mate at the same time as he revelled in the feel of his body.

“Alphas,” Waylon quietly agreed, turning briskly in the tight circle of Eddie’s arms to kiss the man.

Waylon lost himself quickly in the feel of Eddie’s mouth. 

He could pretend like he didn’t want this until the cows came home, but his feelings for Eddie didn’t develop overnight. There were times when all he could think on most of the days he spent with his best friend was the image of the Alpha kissing him hard and then the two of them getting intimate in… other ways. The reason Waylon had never let himself hope, though, was because he was a Beta. Not the most confident Beta, but a Beta nonetheless. He didn’t have heats, his body didn’t naturally accommodate for an Alpha’s knot, and he wasn’t ‘beautiful’. What Alpha in their right mind would choose a Beta—especially Waylon of all people—over a beautiful Omega? In a way, Waylon bringing Miles, his faithful driver and close Omega friend, up to the apartment was a test for Eddie. Because Waylon loved Eddie, and had done so for years thinking it unrequited. He had learnt early on in life not to let himself get too hopeful in case things didn’t work out. He wasn’t going to let himself go into a relationship (mateship) with Eddie if the man would still act like a stereotypical Alpha when it came to Omegas. He couldn’t do that to himself, or to Eddie, because the man would probably still pretend everything to be fine for the sake of his friend.

Now, though, as Eddie plundered Waylon’s mouth with his tongue and played with the hem of the waistband of the pants he’d only just put on. Eddie didn’t seem to be paying attention at all to Miles. If anything he seemed peeved by the man’s presence. So Waylon let the kiss deepen as Eddie’s hands moulded the globes of his ass. Then in a swift movement Waylon was off of the floor and Eddie had picked him up with a bruising grip and grinded into him from the difficult position. While Waylon very much approved of Eddie’s display of strength and affection, he was also reminded with a stab of pain that he was still tender from the original mating. Somehow he must have conveyed it to Eddie because the man slowly lowered him back to his own two feet and lowered the intensity of their kissing until he was just gently pecking Waylon’s lips.

They shared a look of content and grinned to each other. It was a wonder Waylon still had doubts when he could witness Eddie’s passion firsthand.

A throat cleared noisily nearby them and then there was an equally loud crunch of someone taking a bite of an apple. The pair turned to see Miles still perched on the kitchen counter, munching on a red apple. “Oh, I’m sorry. Was I interrupting something?” he smirked at Waylon in particular, “Done?”

Eddie’s glare indicated he was definitely not enjoying the Omega’s presence, but Waylon knew that as time went by his friends would grow on each other.

“For now,” Waylon winked at Eddie as he broke out of the circle of his arms to sit at a stool in the kitchen. “I do need to sort out how I’m going to tell my family though, Miles. And my cover story. I was thinking…”

 

After a long day—literally seven solid hours—of planning and plotting between Miles and Waylon, the driver bid them farewell and wished them a ‘good night’ with a suggestive wink to Waylon and a lewd gesture of his left forefinger penetrating a circle formed by his right forefinger and thumb. Eddie slammed the door in his Cheshire-cat-grinning face a little too hard, but he just wanted to be alone with his mate again.

“He seems nice,” Eddie commented, disinterested, before flopping down on his thick rug that dominated the entrance hall. He sort of wished there was something more comfortable to flop onto but other than the mattress in his bedroom he didn’t have anything he’d be comfortable lying on. Unless Waylon counted, of course. But even then he’d be worried about crushing the smaller man.

Waylon flopped down next to Eddie and the pair turned their respective heads towards each other with smiles.

“You’re cute,” Eddie commented randomly and Waylon’s face scrunched up adorably.

Their faces came closer together, nose-to-nose, as they shuffled their bodies towards each other. Then, just as they were about to kiss…

“You too.”

Eddie spluttered immediately and sat up, affronted. “I am most certainly not ‘cute’, thank you very much. Cute sounds small, adorable, and harmless… like you.” Eddie pointed out but Waylon just laughed and disregarded his comment.

“Harmless? Adorable? You fit two of the criteria for cute then.”

Eddie’s eyes darkened in challenge and he pulled himself up onto his hands and knees, “You sure about that, darling?”

“Yup. Even ‘small’ could still be applicable, I’m sure.” Waylon teased, sitting up.

Eddie growled and jumped on top of the Beta, pushing him straight back to the carpet and pinning his two arms easily with one of his above Waylon’s head. The smaller man struggled uselessly and thrashed his hips to try and buck Eddie off, but the attempt was laughable with Eddie’s form. The thrashing and position brought both of their attention to Eddie’s obvious erection, tenting his shorts into Waylon’s belly.

“Bit excited there?” Waylon laughed, almost embarrassed that he wasn’t quite as aroused as Eddie was yet.

“Just demonstrating that I am most certainly not small, in any aspect.” Eddie commented as he shifted his hips down so they were flush with Waylon’s and his erection was poking into Waylon’s pelvis. He released Waylon’s hands, satisfied that he wouldn’t fight back as he began to rock his hips teasingly into the smaller man’s.

Waylon suddenly surprised even himself as he flipped Eddie off of him and onto his back, leaping on top of the Alpha in much a similar fashion that he had been. He chalked it up to Eddie’s distraction rather than his own brute strength, but it was still a nice boost to Waylon’s pride and a rush of excitement flowed through him. Waylon was shorter than Eddie he ended up mounting Eddie’s stomach more than anything and his butt was planted on top of Eddie’s groin.

The Alpha hummed his approval and moved his hands to Waylon’s hips to plant him more firmly on the tent in his shorts. Waylon had a bizarre thought as he felt the line of Eddie’s enormous member against his clothed ass: ‘How the hell did I get that whole thing inside me in the first place?’

“God, Waylon,” Eddie gasped, clearly satisfied. One of his hands roamed from Waylon’s hips up to his shirt and began to move the offending item of clothing upwards. “Take it off.”

Waylon supposed it was fair. Eddie had spent the whole day walking around in just his shorts. And Waylon was more than happy to oblige.

“You make yourself a gift for me,” Eddie began as Waylon threw his shirt to the side, “A delicacy to be unwrapped,” he pulled at Waylon’s pants and underwear until they exposed his hips and groin. Waylon would have to get off to take them off the rest of the way, “And unwrapped again.” Waylon got the message and hopped off quickly to take off his pants. Eddie grinned as he hopped right back onto his lap when he was naked. “And savoured.”

The line was a bizarre one for Eddie to say and Waylon distantly wondered if he’d had that one saved for some time just waiting to use it. As he rocked his hips back on Eddie’s cock he could care less the origins of his weird dirty talking.

“Your turn,” the Beta said, sliding down Eddie’s body until his head was in line with his crotch and tugging his shorts down while maintaining eye contact with his Alpha. His cock sprung free excitedly and a bead of precum oozed from the tip. Waylon licked his lips and Eddie watched closely as his head inched nearer to the Alpha’s member.

“Wait,” Eddie interjected just as Waylon’s lips were about to touch the head. The Alpha sat up and the movement made his cock bob and hit Waylon’s mouth gently anyway. “Lie down.” He commanded, putting a hand on Waylon’s chest and making the man do just as he said. Waylon then watched, eyes glazing over, as Eddie shuffled to kneel over his face.

The Alpha directed his cock’s head to the Beta’s lips with a thrust of his hips as he leant over the man’s beautiful body, bracing himself on his hands on either side of Waylon’s legs.

As the head brushed Waylon’s lips, Eddie groaned and the Beta was encouraged as he wrapped his lips around the head.

Eddie carefully looked through the gap in their bodies as he pulled his hips back and a bead of precum connected the dewy head of his cock to his mate’s mouth. It was too much to see and he thrust himself back into Waylon’s mouth and began to ease himself into the warm, wet cavern of the other man’s throat.

“Fuck, you’re so good for me.” Eddie praised him. He wasn’t entirely sure if Waylon liked praise, but as long as he wasn’t acting irrational he seemed to accept whatever Eddie gave him. It made him incredibly proud and thankful of his mate for being so perfect. “Perfect,” he told the Beta as he gagged a little on his cock. It was about two thirds inside, which was more than Eddie expected him to be able to take at the current time anyway. He was so close to his climax but he wanted to see how much more Waylon could make himself take before he came.

His attention was brought to Waylon’s cock as it poked gently into his chest. Eddie grinned as he reached out to wrap his fingers around the Beta’s cock and gave it a few slow strokes. Waylon groaned around Eddie’s member and the Alpha was encouraged to speed up his ministrations.

The Beta carefully edged Eddie’s cock deeper into his throat before he reached a point and gagged again. Eddie was truly impressed at how naturally the kid seemed to be able to take it. A bout of jealously ran through him as he considered that maybe Waylon had sucked other cocks in his life other than Eddie’s, but Eddie comforted himself in the knowledge that regardless of his past, Waylon would only be sucking him off for the rest of his life. Not nonstop for the rest of his life, of course, no matter how desirable that might seem to Eddie.

He gave Waylon’s dick’s head a flick of his wrist and the man suddenly climaxed all over Eddie’s hand. It came out of nowhere—pun intended—and Eddie was so surprised by it that he lost himself in Waylon’s soft gasp of pleasure and came himself, right down into his pretty throat.

“Darling,” Eddie gasped, breathless, and careful not to follow the strong urge to thrust all the way into Waylon’s throat and choke him on his cock. Waylon made a sound that was probably meant to be ‘Eddie’, but with his cock still jammed halfway down his throat, it just vibrated around his member and caused whatever small amount of semen he had left in him spend itself out to Waylon. “Fucking minx.”

Waylon gently nudged at his hip and Eddie reluctantly pulled out of his mouth with a gentle popping sound that made him want to stick it back in and keep making the sound with Waylon’s lips and his cock. He collapsed onto the rug adjacent to Waylon and inverted himself so they were lying down side by side.

Waylon turned his head sideways to look into Eddie’s eyes. “I lo—”

Waylon suddenly spluttered around his words and coughed something in his throat up into his mouth. He made a grossed out face and Eddie could see the pearly white colour of his own cum on Waylon’s lips. He grinned and kissed Waylon, not minding the taste of himself but more-so for the purpose of making Waylon swallow it back down with his saliva. No waste.

Waylon seemed to realise what Eddie was doing after he’d swallowed again and glared at the other man who was grinning, accomplished, right in his face.

“Well, I was going to say ‘I love you’ but I don’t really feel like it now,” Waylon joked and Eddie laughed, reaching a hand to rest on the Beta’s stomach, which had some of his own release coating it. Eddie got a bit on his hand and brought it to his lips to swallow it while maintaining eye contact with Waylon.

The Beta gave him a surprised look and Eddie considered it worth it if only for the surprise, “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were some changes in perspective throughout this chapter. I try to keep things consistent but I hope it doesn't detract greatly when I do it.  
> As always any feedback is welcome!


	3. Aspiration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Setting up the plot for the upcoming chapters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly plot, but it's necessary to setup the next ones. Soon there'll be more fun times.

Miles’ cover story supposedly bought Waylon and Eddie a week to heal and figure out their plan of attack when it came to telling Waylon’s family. Which meant that Waylon was doing most of the planning and Eddie was providing his mate emotional support as he did. Clearly the Beta was very anxious about telling his family that he had mated with his best friend; but Eddie no longer took it personally.

Being friends with the man since childhood he had obviously met his parents before. They were kind people and, like Waylon, they had never looked down on Eddie just because of his much lower social status. However, he remembered vividly a time when Waylon was getting picked on at school by one of his classmates. Somehow his family found out and his parents had intervened and got the kid expelled from the school with their societal sway.

They were aggressively protective of their children, and if they saw Eddie as a threat in any way to Waylon then they wouldn’t let him be a part of his life. The mere idea of being separated from his mate after just a week together was painful.

Hence, they waited for Waylon to heal: if his family’s first impression of the new mate happened to be Waylon limping across the threshold with Eddie on his arm then it would certainly put a damper on the already awkward situation.

“My siblings are a pretty diverse range of sexes, so I don’t think they’ll discriminate based on your sex. They shouldn’t anyway. God, I hope they don’t. What about Dennis? You know my siblings right? Or at least remember them?” the Beta was rambling on the night before they had planned to head to the Park’s mansion and unleash their big news.

Of course Eddie remembered a few of Waylon’s siblings. He was the youngest and with Eddie being older he had been in the same year as Waylon’s eldest brother Jeremy. Jeremy, and many of Waylon’s siblings, weren’t as humble as the man himself was about their position in society. Jeremy loved to remind everyone around him that he came from a powerful family and had inherited a powerful position in it. He was an Alpha as well and he often taunted Eddie at school about being poor and thus unable to provide for himself, let alone any kind of mate. 

It was how he and Waylon had met because the Beta had stood up to his own brother for him. He’d known the moment it had happened that he was going to have Waylon one day, but clearly the other man wanted to tease him for a couple more years before they inevitably went through with it. Eddie grinned to himself as he considered their destinies intertwining and leading them to this beautiful day where they were together. In a way it was all thanks to Jeremy’s bad temperament.

“I remember Jeremy for sure,” Eddie responded lowly, stroking Waylon’s short locks of hair to attempt to calm him down.

The man was sat fidgeting on a stool in the kitchen as Eddie fixed them both up a dinner. Days prior, Waylon had ordered some basic food to sustain them. Eddie was grateful that the man hadn’t spent a large sum of money on the luxurious foods he was accustomed to and instead just ordered some regular groceries and left the ball in his Alpha’s court regarding what they would make of it. It assuaged most if not all of the guilt Eddie felt about his Beta paying for their food.

“Do you remember Chris?” Waylon queried, still just as anxious as he had been before Eddie’s massage.

Ah, Chris Walker. He wasn’t actually one of Waylon’s ‘brothers’ per se, but he lived in the mansion and was the ward of Waylon’s father, so he was a part of the family. Eddie probably got along with Chris the best of any of the Park household. Barring Waylon, of course. “Of course, Chris and I were pretty close in school. Are your siblings really important, darling?” he finally made the decision to make a simple pasta for their ‘last supper’, as it were. “Isn’t it more pertinent that we woo your parents than your siblings?”

Waylon shook his head dismissively, “As long as I’m not injured and you don’t go full Alpha in front of my parents we should be able to dodge that hurdle. But I know my siblings. They’ll try and goad you or me into slipping up and getting mum and dad to get rid of you.”

Eddie only really knew Jeremy, and he wasn’t that vindictive. “Surely they aren’t that malicious, darling.”

Waylon just gave him a disbelieving look and expounded the rest of his siblings. “Jessica is my older sister, beautiful, Omega, model, all that jazz. She’s always been daddy’s little angel but she clashes with the rest of the family.”

Eddie nodded, his attention divided as he cooked their dinner and also learnt what to expect in the coming days from his mate.

“Dennis is my other older brother, last sibling. Beta. He’s always sort of hated Alphas. He tried setting me up with so many other Betas over the years, I know he’s not going to be impressed with this development.”

“And your folks?” Eddie microwaved the pasta sauce and prepared the strainer in the sink for the final stage of their dinner, “Alexandra and Michael are the same as old times?” Eddie checked for the sake of covering all their bases. He wanted to make a good initial impression given it had been many years since he’d seen them and now he was suddenly turning up on their doorstep, declaring his undying love for their son and pointing out their mateship. The Alpha definitely had to do things smoothly.

“Mum’s become a bit of a socialite recently, when that used to always be dad’s game. Other than that, I think they’re just same-old-same-old.”

Eddie plated up a reasonable portion of the pasta for himself and Waylon and sat on the stool next to his mate. He let their knees brush as he dug into his meal.

“Miles is going to help us sort all the nitty-gritty details out as well. I just hope—” Waylon was silenced as Eddie used his fork to shovel some food into his mouth. Waylon hummed in approval at the taste and returned Eddie’s fork to eat with his own.

They ate the rest of their dinner in a comfortable silence and Eddie cleaned up after they had finished. He shepherded Waylon into the bedroom when the man made no indication that he was going to move himself.

“Gee, I know a signal when I see it. Way to be subtle.” Waylon joked.

The pair brushed their respective teeth and washed up before hopping into bed, knowing that the next day they would be picked up by Miles and delivered to the Park mansion to do their best at highlighting the positives of their new situation to a jury of Waylon’s parents and siblings.

“I love you,” Waylon whispered as they lay, face-to-face on Eddie’s old mattress. It was a wonder Waylon could sleep on it after growing used to Egyptian cotton and king-sized beds his whole life. Perhaps it was Eddie’s presence that mellowed him, or perhaps Waylon’s equitable temperament extended to his spinal cord as well.

“I love you, too,” Eddie responded, accentuating his words by planting his lips on the other man’s chastely. They had kept up a steady routine of non-penetrative sex all week, but now it seemed that the aphrodisiac of post-mating had worn off and they were back to normal. Normal being that they were both still aroused by the proximity, of course, but not desperately and animalistic like it had been. “Perhaps we should give tonight a rest so as not to risk anything for tomorrow.”

Waylon nodded his agreement, moving a hand up to run over the various love-bites littering his collarbone. He just hoped he could keep them covered up tomorrow in front of his parents. He couldn’t image how embarrassing it would be if his parent’s first encounter with him following mateship he was covered in hickeys.

“Are you feeling better down…?” Eddie ran his hand over the globes of Waylon’s ass and gave it a gentle squeeze. By the way Waylon’s eyes darkened, Eddie had gotten his answer. “That’s good. I’ll be sure to give Trager my gratitude.” he tapped the man’s behind one more time before moving his hand up to the Beta’s lower back and pulling the man up to rest on his chest.

Waylon lay his head on the hard flesh of Eddie’s pectoral muscle, “No matter what happens tomorrow,” Waylon began with a serious tone, “I’ll always choose you, Ed.” The Alpha made a noise of protest but the Beta just kept talking, “I’ve been wanting this for so fucking long, Ed. I’m not going to let anyone take it away from me now that I’ve finally got everything I want.”

Eddie considered pointing out that Waylon’s parents could just as easily go over their son’s head and take Eddie out of the picture, but it would ruin the beautiful moment. So instead he said what he was thinking, “I’ve got everything I need, as long as you’re by my side.” He kissed the top of Waylon’s head affectionately and they fell into a comfortable silence until… “Not to sound vulgar, darling,” he emphasised the word with the drawl his voice took occasionally, “but I can’t wait until we can fuck.” Waylon laughed and the action vibrated Eddie’s chest. “As in, like, really fuck. Like knot and all, if you’ll let me.”

Waylon apparently thought Eddie’s inner thoughts to be absolutely hysterical because he sounded out of breath when he finally laid his head back on Eddie’s chest and said, “One step at a time.”

Eddie hummed in agreement and intertwined his legs with Waylon’s under the sheet covering the lower halves of their bodies.

“And of course I’d let you.”

Waylon added as an afterthought as he drifted off and Eddie preened. 

Now Eddie had that much more at stake with this meeting.

 

Waylon and Eddie woke up the following morning and briskly dressed and ate before calling Miles. They were out of the apartment and off on their journey to the Park mansion in minutes. Waylon nervously rehearsed his speech of how he was going to explain the situation to his parents—much to Miles’ amusement. At first Eddie was willing to just go along with the ride but as they grew closer and closer to their estate he started to nervously practice his opening lines to reintroduce himself to the family.

“Shut up,” he growled when Miles’ laughter increased tenfold. 

The man should be focussing on the road, anyway, not laughing at the exploits of his passengers. The Omega was truly incompetent, but for some reason Waylon enjoyed having him around and who was Eddie to deny his mate anything?

“We’re here,” Miles announced as the large entrance gate closed behind them. It was as though they were suddenly locked in unknown, uncharted, dangerous territories… that just so happened to be Waylon’s home.

Miles parked the car and the next minute Eddie and Waylon were standing nervously in front of the enormous, arching doors of the entrance. The door had intricate patterns carved into the generations-old wood that matched the rustic feeling of the well-furnished veranda.

Eddie paled at the thought that perhaps just this door was worth more than all he owned.

Waylon’s hand sought Eddie’s and the Alpha gladly took it; receiving as much encouragement from his mate as he was giving. Waylon pressed the doorbell adjacent to the door and it sounded around them. The pair waited anxiously to be greeted—at Waylon’s own home.

The door opened finally and around the half-arch peeked Alexandra, Waylon’s mother. At seeing it was her son she stepped out from behind the other half of the door and welcomed him into a hug. Waylon let go of Eddie’s hand and leapt into the arms of his mother.

“Miles told us you’d be back today, Way,” she stated and her attention cautiously flitted to Eddie as she embraced her son. “I see you brought a friend as well.” 

Waylon knew from his mother’s tone that it wasn’t a statement. She had no idea why Eddie was there, and his mother hated when she didn’t understand something.

Waylon disentangled from his mother and returned to Eddie’s side, grasping his hand and receiving a firm squeeze back in response.

“You remember Eddie, mum?” he shifted nervously, focussing on the weight of Eddie’s hand in his to give him the strength to say it. “Well, I stayed the week at Eddie’s because… because…” Waylon wanted to cry. It had always been this way with his mother: whenever he would confront her about anything she would just stare him down with her piercing eyes and he would completely deflate. Not this time, though. This time he had to get it right for not only his sake but also his mate’s. “Because we’re mates.”

Alexandra’s expression hadn’t changed since opening the door; smile still firmly in place. Waylon had no clue if that was a good sign. He had a moment of doubt before remembering his promise to Eddie the night before. He was resolute with his statement that no matter what, he would always choose Eddie. He didn’t doubt the Alpha’s love for him; and now that he had it he would never let it go. No matter what the cost.

“That’s lovely, sweetie,” Alexandra squealed, rushing forward to squeeze both of them in an enveloping hug. “Oh, I’m so happy for you!” her arm span wasn’t even close to being long enough to get Eddie and Waylon together in a hug, but the effort was endearing. “Come in! It’s just me home at the moment.” She apparently disregarded the butler, maid, gardener, security guard and any of the other Park household employees. “Everyone’ll be home for dinner, though. Oh, this is so exciting! You have to tell my about yourself Eddie.”

“Alright,” Eddie spoke his first word and the trio moved through the large open space of the entrance hall into a room that was dominated by an enormous horse-shoe shaped lounge and television to match. Alexandra switched the television off with a flick of her wrist and sat herself on one section of the lounge, with Waylon quickly following suit and Eddie still trying to make something of the situation. He seemed cautious to touch anything.

They sat in silence for a second longer than Waylon should have let them and Alexandra spoke up, “So, Eddie,” she began the scrutiny, “What do you do for a living?”

Their butler stopped by and she retrieved a glass of champagne without averting her gaze from Eddie. The man in question coughed nervously before speaking, “I, uh, get by as a tailor,” he explained, “But because there’s been a lack of business recently, I also work construction jobs when I can.”

She sloshed her champagne in the glass and sipped it with a smile, “Impressive!” she frowned slightly and Waylon’s heart leapt in his chest. He wasn’t expecting any backlash to happen this quickly with his mum of all people.

“What’s wrong?” Waylon asked immediately.

“I’m just…” she looked around conspiratorially before leaning in. “Way said you were ‘mates’. I know this is incredibly non-politically correct, but what are you, Eddie?” She could assume his answer based on Eddie’s large, muscular body, but she didn’t want to stereotype.

Waylon sighed in relief. If there was one thing his mum was, it was supportive of non-traditional relationships.

“I’m an Alpha,” Eddie replied and there was the unsaid fact that to consider Waylon his ‘mate’ they had to knot.

She nodded acceptingly, “Okay, that’s lovely. You’ve never expressed an interest in Alpha’s before, Way. I had no idea.”

Waylon considered that. It wasn’t that he was attracted to Alphas in general, it was always just Eddie…

“I guess it doesn’t matter now, does it?” Eddie joked, but Alexandra didn’t seem amused.

“Quite.” Her immaculate lips were pursed for only a few seconds before she was back to her smile. “I recall the two of you meeting back in school so that question is a bit redundant,” she laughed as if it was funny and Waylon and Eddie joined in for the sake of pleasing her. She picked up on their nervousness and resolved to delay the true interrogation until later. “Perhaps I should save any more questions for dinner tonight? I feel as though having us all under one roof, sharing a meal, will provide the perfect circumstance to announce it to the rest of the family. You must stay the night, Eddie.”

Waylon frowned at the added titbit at the end. By asking Eddie to stay the night Waylon knew she was offering him one of the spare bedrooms, far away from Waylon’s room. She was using some underhand strategies to monitor the situation. He took charge from his mother for the first time in his life, “Yes, I’ll show you my bedroom, Ed.”

He saw his mother’s surprised expression but she didn’t challenge him and Waylon was relieved. “Dinner will be at 8, so you’ve got a few hours to show him around our home, Way.” She left, humming an upbeat song under her breath and both men were relieved to have time to themselves again.

“I think that went well,” Eddie pointed out as Waylon led him up a spiral staircase further into the mansion. Everything inside was pristine and Eddie was being careful not to damage or dirty anything.

“I think so, too,” Waylon agreed and opened a crème coloured door. He ushered Eddie inside and for the first time in his life, Eddie was inside of Waylon’s room and not the other way around. The Beta’s room was different to the rest of the house. It lacked the rigid cleanliness of the other places Eddie had seen, with books and clothes strewn about haphazardly and the bed left unmade. It was endearing to think that Waylon was this messy in his own space even though he insisted on hygiene and order in the rest of his life.

“This is…” Eddie paused, beholding his mate’s room in all its glory, “wonderful, darling.”

Waylon groaned and marched around the room to sweep some of the clutter into a corner, “Yeah, yeah. I know it’s a bit messy.”

“A bit messy? Considering the size of this room, I’m amazed you managed to cover every inch of it in junk.”

Waylon scoffed in disbelief, “Junk!”

“Yes,” Eddie confirmed, picking up a permission slip for some school excursion back in primary school that had obviously never seen the light of day, “Junk.”

Waylon tugged the paper from Eddie’s grip and cruised him through the mess before sitting him down on the double bed. “Here. Just lie down and look pretty while I sort this stuff out.”

The Alpha wanted to grumble at his mate calling him something as effeminate as ‘pretty’, but he knew Waylon meant well. And as Waylon bent down in front of him to pick up various detritus, Eddie found it very hard to not be happy.

He reached out and hooked his arms under Waylon’s armpits, “Come here, you don’t need to clean,” he pulled the Beta onto the bed and into his lap. “I love it just the way it is; it’s classic ‘Waylon Park chic’.”

Waylon didn’t fight him when Eddie pulled him onto him, not that he really could have if he tried. “My style is usually not this frenzied, but thank you.”

Eddie tapped his cheek and Waylon turned his head to gently kiss his mate. “You’ve got a nice bed,” the Alpha told him suggestively and Waylon hummed in agreement, turning in his lap to deepen the kiss.

“I’m sure you’ll get very well acquainted with it soon,” Waylon murmured against his lips and Eddie suddenly flipped them so he was looming over the Beta’s delicate form.

“Why wait?” he kissed Waylon again with renewed vigour and framed his face with two large hands. Waylon was enthusiastic for a few breaths, welcoming Eddie’s exploratory tongue, but then he gently pushed on Eddie’s chest and the Alpha reluctantly halted in his ministrations, “Not feeling it?” he ran a hand down Waylon’s chest and the Beta chuckled.

“Trust me, I’m feeling it,” Waylon assured him, guiding Eddie’s hand lower to Waylon’s prominent arousal. Eddie’s eyes darkened and he brushed his hand over Waylon’s groin teasingly, “But I think we should wait until after dinner tonight.”

Eddie sighed and rolled off of Waylon so they were laying shoulder-to-shoulder, looking up at the star pattern painted onto the ceiling. “Can’t wait,” Eddie breathed. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”


	4. Acknowledgement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have the dinner.  
> Then they have some fun.

Eddie’s brisk tour of the house was enlightening for the Alpha as he came to quantify just how rich the Parks were. Waylon seemed intent to only show him a few rooms, as if he was embarrassed to show him around, but Eddie had no qualms with the change of scenery. They passed a few photos of Waylon when he was younger and Eddie naturally teased him about it.

“Oh, Waylon,” he laughed, “Were those the thickest glasses you could find?”

“They were age-appropriate, and I liked them… at least before the laser surgery. If I had to wear glasses I wanted them.” The Beta defended himself and Eddie ‘awed’ before draping himself over Waylon affectionately.

“Don’t worry, you were so cute,” he kissed at Waylon’s neck while the Beta failed to shrug him off.

“Past tense? I see,” Waylon sighed dramatically, “So I’m not cute anymore.”

Eddie hummed into Waylon’s ear, “Mm, now you’re sexy,” he nipped at his mate’s earlobe to accentuate his point.

 

They walked hand-in-hand to the dining room when Alexandra summoned them later that day.

As soon as they crossed the threshold into the room, they were the focal point of the attention of the family. Alexandra took her seat adjacent to Michael’s and took his hand with a smile while the four others sat around the table responded with varying degrees of shocked expressions.

“Ed,” Chris waved the pair over to sit in the two empty spaces next to him, “Good to see you again.”

Dennis glared daggers at Eddie, Jeremy glared daggers at Waylon, and Jessica glared daggers at every person at the table. 

The atmosphere was tense, but Alexandra remained overly cheery as a maid came in to carve the huge roast which dominated the table, “So, everyone, this is Eddie. He’s Waylon’s—”

“—mate” Eddie finished for her proudly.

Jeremy scoffed and the tension increased threefold. “Doesn’t a mating pair require an Alpha and an Omega?”

“Now, now, Jeremy,” Alexandra’s tone was overly kind as she addressed her disdainful son, “Times are changing. You’ll grow to modify that attitude accordingly, I hope.”

There was no further immediate comments on their coupling, so Michael began to dig into the food. His unspoken decision instigated all present to start their dinner.

Eddie grew frustrated as he found that whenever he reached for a utensil to grab some of the meat, Jeremy or Dennis would quickly snatch it and take some incredibly slowly. He wanted to growl and shout at the Alpha and Beta, but he knew that wouldn’t go by well. Waylon evidently noticed what was happening when he had a full plate of food and Eddie still had only a few potatoes. He swapped their plates without preamble and then served himself again. Eddie’s heart swelled with affection for his caring mate.

Yes, that was why he couldn’t let his temper take control of his actions: because he loved Waylon. He had to make sure this visit and every aspect of it went over smoothly or he would be forcing the man of his life to choose between his family and his mate. He couldn’t do that to Waylon. He would spend every hour of the rest of his life with Jeremy Blaire (surname changed of his own accord when he felt the need to make a name for himself instead of just coasting off the Park name) if it meant Waylon had everything he wanted.

He dug into Waylon’s gifted meal with vigour as soon as his mate had started eating himself.

“So,” Eddie heard Jessica speak for the first time in his life. The Omega’s figure was beautiful but her voice betrayed her in its coldness and ferocity. She had a similar figure to Waylon in a way that he could clearly see they were related, but that was where the similarities ended, “When did this happen?” she gestured at the pair with her fork when she said ‘this’ and chewed disgustingly with her mouth open.

“A week or so ago,” Waylon answered after swallowing his food, “But it’s always sort of been there.” He looked at Eddie with such fondness that the Alpha had to be careful not to forget to chew and swallow his food.

“That’s sweet,” Dennis commented, but his tone defied his words, “What’d it take, the guy to hold you down and force his knot in you?”

“Dennis…” Michael muttered his name in warning, disinterested with most of the conversation but wanting to keep the peace.

“I can assure you there was no degree of force, Dennis,” Waylon interjected before Eddie could defend himself. His mate surprised him sometimes when he spoke, but Eddie could jump on Waylon’s bandwagon seeing as he, supposedly, knew how to deal with his family.

“Ed, how’s work going? Still chasing that dream job as a tailor?” Chris engaged him in conversation and some of the table’s intensity abated. Waylon released a sigh of relief he didn’t realise he was holding in.

 

The rest of the dinner passed with little incident. The dinner haemorrhaged people as they finished eating and eventually Eddie and Waylon bid their farewells and left Chris and Michael at the table. 

They retreated to Waylon’s room and, as soon as the door was closed behind them, the pair deflated and fell to the bed.

Eddie played with the hem of Waylon’s shirt absentmindedly as the relief at the dinner going by relatively well washed over him.

“I’m glad that went by as it did,” Waylon commented, agreeing with Eddie’s thoughts. He rolled onto his stomach and bumped shoulders with Eddie, “Little or no response is immensely better than something big.”

“Something big, you say,” Eddie teased Waylon playfully but as soon as he said it something about the atmosphere changed and Waylon’s eyes darkened.

“Of course,” Waylon murmured with a serious expression and Eddie was concerned, “I’d say some kind of reward is in order, Mr Gluskin, for celebratory purposes.”

Eddie’s worry was instantly replaced with arousal as Waylon pushed him gently onto his back and mounted his hips, sitting directly over his groin.

“What did you have in mind, darling?” Eddie queried, excitement and anticipation bleeding into his tone at the prospect of whatever Waylon had in mind.

“I think,” Waylon pretended to mull it over as he swiftly rid Eddie of his dress slacks. Eddie removed his own t-shirt at the same time and reached for Waylon’s shoulders to offer him the same courtesy. His hands were smacked away as Waylon retook his position over Eddie, “I’d like you to knot me again.”

Eddie’s mouth went dry and he licked his lips, placing his hands on Waylon’s hips and gently rubbing, “You sure?”

He answered by kissing Eddie fiercely while impressively slipping out of his own pants. He disconnected their mouths for a few seconds at most to take off his shirt too. “Positive. I’ve forgotten what it feels like to have you inside me,” Eddie’s iris was swallowed by his pupils, “Perhaps you could enlighten me?”

Eddie growled and flipped them quickly, pawing at Waylon’s underwear and tugging it off eagerly, “Fuck, you know I can.”

He discarded the offending article of clothing to the side and then looked greedily over his mate’s body. Each centimetre of Waylon’s beautiful white skin was like a blank canvas for Eddie to paint over with his self. It left him a giddy feeling as he imagined all that Waylon would let him do to him. His arousal tented his briefs obscenely and for some reason Eddie felt the sudden urge to try and thrust into Waylon like that just to watch Waylon let him.

“Fuck, darling,” Eddie sighed as he pawed at Waylon’s chest. His hands were so huge in comparison to his rather slight mate. He wouldn’t have it any other way, but it still amazed him.

“C’mon, Ed, that all you gonna do?” Waylon teased him, but Eddie would not be rushed.

The Alpha continued running his hands over every inch of his body. He might’ve been skinny, but Waylon was no Omega. His muscle was more defined in places where an Omega would be soft. He had blemishes which an Omega would have gotten adjusted by instinct. And, perhaps most importantly, he had a tight asshole instead of the slick, fertile passage of an Omega.

Somehow it all just built his desire for Waylon even further. He thrust his clothed erection against Waylon’s ass with wonder. Then the Alpha shed his briefs and released his engorged cock.

“Fuck, Ed, c’mon,” Waylon encouraged him when he saw that he’d finally joined him in nudity.

“Patience, darling,” Eddie placated him, “I need to prepare you so we don’t risk damaging you again.”

Waylon was impatient and kicked Eddie off the bed without warning, “Lube in the top drawer, I’ll start preparing myself.”

Eddie quickly got the lube and then turned to the bed to see Waylon already working two fingers inside himself. He handed Waylon the lube without thought, too caught up in watching his mate’s ministrations, “Eager, darling?”

“Always eager for you, Eddie,” Waylon looked him dead in the eye as he added a third finger with the help of the lube and then the Alpha lost it a little.

He growled and ripped Waylon’s fingers from his ass unceremoniously. It was a beautiful sight to behold, but Eddie really couldn’t wait any longer. Suddenly he didn’t care in the moment if he hurt Waylon again because it would just mean more proof that Waylon was his, and how could that be a bad thing?

He pinned Waylon’s sinful hands on either side of his body and fit himself between Waylon’s legs. It was surprisingly simple for Eddie to line himself up with Waylon’s pucker even without the use of his hands. He euphorically thought to himself that it was because his cock just knew exactly where to push into Waylon.

Evidently, Waylon was skilled in the art of loosening himself because Eddie got half of his huge member inside on his first, definitive thrust.

“Beautiful,” he commented as he pulled out and saw Waylon’s little hole accommodating him. He thrust in again and pushed until his balls were flush against the Beta’s ass. For a moment he was satisfied staying there, and he could probably comfortably spend the rest of his life buried to the hilt in Waylon if it were conceivable. But then the urgent need to move began to grow.

“Come on, Eddie. Fucking fuck me,” Waylon demanded him, and who was Eddie to deny his mate anything?

“Language, darling,” Eddie chided even as he pulled out and then thrust right back in with a harsh slap of skin on skin and a gasp from Waylon. He did it again to recreate the effect. Then again, and again, and again; faster and faster as he quickly became addicted to each of his mate’s sounds.

Waylon’s chorus of ‘ahs’ gradually transformed into a chorus of ‘ohs’ and then it became entirely unintelligible. Eddie wanted to pride himself on that fact, but he could quickly feel his knot forming and his thrusts gained further in intensity.

“Fuck, Waylon, darling, I’m gonna knot you…” he informed his mate, just in case he was uncertain.

“Yeah, Ed, give it to me,” Waylon encouraged and Eddie growled, flipping Waylon over suddenly onto his stomach and then lifting Waylon onto his knees and resuming his pounding from the new position, “Fuck, yeah!”

“I’m gonna fill you up, bitch,” Eddie grunted, gripping Waylon’s hips with a bruising grip. ‘Good,’ Eddie thought, feral, ‘I hope it bruises.’

Waylon pushed back on each of his thrusts to meet Eddie’s hips, and it was incredibly hot to see his mate so eager. But, unfortunately, it was throwing off Eddie’s rhythm and making his climax approach faster than he was wanting, so he tightened his grip to hold Waylon still and just pounding him until he got the message. Then he kept pounding him, even after Waylon had relented all his control to Eddie, because it felt amazing. Waylon started pumping his own cock in time eagerly, so clearly his mate was enjoying it as well.

“Pump you full of my pups,” he snarled, leaning over Waylon’s back to slobber over his neck and ear. The Alpha was being messy, but at least if anyone saw they’d certainly get the message: Waylon was his.

“Ed, fuck, fuck, fuck, I’m cumming,” Waylon swore in a triumvirate of passion and then released a beautiful half-shout-half-moan as he came over his own fist. Eddie snarled again at his mate’s climax and began fucking into Waylon’s hole with even more urgency as his knot began to catch on the edges.

“Gonna dump all my seed in you, darling,” Eddie panted, mouth long since gone running off whatever dirty things came to mind. He could feel his thrusts be delayed by the tell-tale pressure of his knot on Waylon’s rim and his panting picked up in volume before it transformed into a shout of pleasure as he found himself unable to pull out of Waylon, “Knot that ass, make it mine,” Eddie ground his pelvis into and did shallow thrusts against Waylon’s ass as he felt the first waves of his release washing over him.

Waylon hummed in satisfaction below him and Eddie purred.

Suddenly the full intensity of Eddie’s climax hit him and, with no hesitation, Eddie bit down hard on Waylon’s shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm, Eddie said some interesting things...   
> Hopefully that was at least semi-interesting sexy times. Feedback is sought out!


	5. Absorption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Follow-up of the previous chapter's events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long as is so short. I had to decide which direction the story was to go in, and got preoccupied with life.  
> On the positive, this chapter was pretty fun to write as it helped me speculate future plot points.  
> I'll try and get the following chapter out soon.

Eddie was only distantly aware of the world following his climax. Of the feeling of Waylon shuffling them so that they slept Waylon’s back to Eddie’s stomach. Of Waylon’s laboured breathing and grunts as he tried to find an ideally comfortable position. Of the muscles that held his knot tight—almost too tight, but Waylon’s body was doing its best to accommodate his sex even though it wasn’t made to do such a thing. It didn’t matter if a Beta wasn’t made for an Alpha, Waylon was made for Eddie.

And that’s what Eddie’s world was reduced to as he drifted off into a blissful stupor: Waylon.

“Waylon, Waylon, Waylon,” he murmured, lips against his mate’s shoulder still tasting the faint metallic tang of blood from where he had bitten down.

Waylon made a grunting sound, “I’m starting to remember why I avoided letting you knot me for all these weeks.” 

Eddie hummed and licked over the bite on Waylon’s shoulder as if to soothe it. Waylon didn’t seem to have been miraculously brought out of pain like Eddie had hoped, but he relaxed a bit so the gesture wasn’t completely in vain. “Sorry, darling,” Eddie cooed, still living on cloud nine. It was a shame, really, that Waylon wouldn’t be able to experience the lasting euphoria like Eddie was. An Omega would share in his experience, but a Beta’s pleasure wasn’t drawn out through knotting.

“You don’t need to apologise, Ed,” Waylon assured him, “I asked for it. And it’s pretty hot,” he illustrated his point by shifting his hips just slightly to feel the organ reallocate inside of him.

Eddie couldn’t agree more, of course, so he just held Waylon close as he rode out the waves of pleasure, “Thank you, Waylon.”

The Beta drifted off not long after that, breathing noticeably evening out and muscles relaxing ever-so-slightly around the Alpha’s knot. Eddie remained wide-awake, adrenalin and endorphins still surging through his system. Even with Waylon’s muscles relaxed, his knot was too swollen to pull out of his mate for a while yet.

It left Eddie time to ponder his relationship with Waylon. 

They had passed Waylon’s tests: he had met the Beta’s family and thus made their partnership that much more concrete, and they had once again knotted. As far as Eddie knew, that was all Waylon had to be apprehensive about when it came to their mating: his family, and their sex life. If there was more, then he had neglected to mention it during their weeks at Eddie’s place.

But what of Eddie’s tests? 

He undoubtedly cared for Waylon as if he were an Omega, but some disturbed part of his hindbrain had taken that caring a step too far. During the heated minutes leading to Eddie knotting Waylon in his own room, he had forgotten that the body beneath him wasn’t actually that of an Omega’s. He remembers purring to Waylon about ‘pups’ and how he was his ‘bitch’. Eddie chuckles mirthlessly at that because, well, it was kind of funny.

But it was also kind of not. Eddie had loved Waylon for so long, fantasising that the man were an Omega so that he could give Eddie everything he wanted. Somehow, in that time his sick mind had taken that fantasy and made it into some deluded reality, because as far as Eddie was concerned, Waylon was his Omega.

It left Eddie with a sour taste in his mouth, so sour that it overcame the sweet taste of Waylon. Because Waylon needed Eddie to be careful about this, and if Eddie failed that then there was the chance that Waylon might even leave him… and there was no doubt in Eddie’s mind that things would not go back to their buddy-buddy friendship ways. No, if Waylon left him, it would be a very intense and absolute separation. Not that Eddie would be able to cope any better if Waylon decided things should go back to how they were when they were friends.

Eddie ran one hand down around where their bodies were joined, memorising the feel of Waylon’s perfect backside. The Beta mumbled in his sleep at Eddie’s ministrations and he rested his hand gently on Waylon’s hip until he settled again.

There were some Alpha-Beta relationships where both parties were content in their unconventional, childless lives. But Eddie had spent so much of his life fantasising about what Waylon and his love could create. Now that he had a taste of it, he just wanted more.

If there were some way that Eddie could transform Waylon into an Omega, then life would be perfect. Alas, there was no such operation that Eddie was aware of. Not that the Beta would agree to one if there was.

It was a tragedy, really, because Eddie knew that Waylon was content how he was now… but he could be so much more! Eddie could bring so much more to his life if Waylon were an Omega.

As if on cue, Eddie’s knot slipped from Waylon’s channel with a gentle, wet sound. Waylon sighed in his sleep, perhaps in relief, and Eddie looked down at Waylon’s hole as his semen dripped from the puffy, red sphincter. It made Eddie want to knot Waylon all over again just to keep his seed locked in, but he knew that his mate would not appreciate it, body probably out of knotting-commission for a while.

And that was just the issue, why Eddie was unsettled: because Waylon was his mate, and that should be enough. Perhaps it was enough for Eddie, before now. Before Waylon had shown him yet again just how perfect he could be for Eddie, if only he were an Omega. Eddie shook his head and used the hand he had on Waylon’s hip to scoop up some of his semen and shovel it back into Waylon’s entrance. 

‘Where it should be,’ Eddie thought.

He could almost pretend that if he kept enough of his seed in Waylon, then perhaps he could miraculously fall pregnant with Eddie’s legacy. The thought was a pleasant one.

“What are you doing?” he heard Waylon mumble. The Alpha stopped his humorous efforts.

“Nothing, darling,” Eddie assured him, putting their bodies flush and hugging Waylon firmly to his chest, “Just thinking.”


	6. Askance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More plot setup. Decided to totally change up the direction I was intending on going in and make it slightly darker cause, let's be real, that's what this fandom is about.

The few days following their second proper coupling passed without much incident. Eddie longed to return to his home and take Waylon with him, but the Beta gave no indication that he wanted to leave his parent’s home any time soon.

Jeremy and Jessica didn’t make an appearance following the ‘family dinner’ which had led up to… a rather good night.

Dennis, however, acted as a shadow to Eddie and Waylon. It was as if there were multiples of him as whichever room the pair retreated to, Dennis would always be in the corner with a scowl on his face, pretending to occupy himself.

It made Eddie feel uncomfortable. The feeling wasn’t helped by Waylon refusing any of his affection when Dennis was watching.

Waylon’s mother would frequently try to engage the pair, shadowing them almost to the extent of Dennis but with opposite intentions. She would pester Waylon into showing Eddie around the outside of the mansion or to show him their childhood portraits. In that regard, Eddie felt more comfortable, but Waylon seemed to struggle.

It was like they couldn’t find a win-win situation. The only times Eddie felt any semblance of his bliss was when he fell asleep with Waylon in his arms.

On their fifth day at the Park mansion, Waylon broke.

“Alright, spit it out, Ed,” Waylon demanded over breakfast. The pair had finally found some privacy by eating in Waylon’s room. Michael had grunted about a mess, but they had assured him that they would be clean. The room was already pretty messy anyway.

Until this moment. Eddie spat out his mouthful of bacon, as if taking Waylon’s command literally. “Excuse me, darling?”

Waylon scrunched his nose at the chewed mass of bacon but continued, “You’re acting weird… quieter.”

“I’ve always been quiet, darling,” Eddie evaded, “I’d have thought you’d notice these things about me by now.”

Waylon gave him an unamused expression but Eddie wasn’t looking him in the eye. He was looking just enough above Waylon’s head that it could be mistaken. Waylon put his breakfast to the side and gently held Eddie’s hand, searching his face.

“What’s wrong, Ed?” Eddie still wasn’t meeting his eyes. It was almost comical that someone so large and powerful could look vulnerable, “I’m your mate; you know can tell me anything.” He used his other hand to hold Eddie’s cheek and force the man to meet his eyes.

“Nothing’s wrong, darling,” the Alpha assured his mate, but Waylon’s expression told him that he wasn’t convincing.

“Please, Eddie. Whatever it is, I won’t be mad.”

Eddie finally met his mate’s worried gaze, “Promise?”

“I promise,” Waylon told him, only getting more apprehensive as he got closer to getting it out of Eddie.

“Move back to Mount Massive with me.”

A few long moments passed before Waylon chuckled with a relieved sigh, “Oh thank god, I thought you were about to break up with me or something.”

Now it was Eddie’s turn to give Waylon a disbelieving expression, “Come on, darling, now that’s just being ridiculous,” he said with a grin, “Does that mean you’ll do it?”

“Are you kidding?” Waylon asked, “Of course I will. I—oof!”

Eddie bowled him over, spilling their breakfasts all over Waylon’s bed. It wouldn’t matter if they were about to move back to Eddie’s anyway.

“I was feeling a bit suffocated here, anyway,” Waylon said, sounding like he was actually being suffocated. Eddie reluctantly released his mate, who was laughing. “Thanks.”

“No. Thank you, Waylon Park,” Eddie retorted, appearing overly spritely all of a sudden. It was a pleasant contrast to his ominous brooding the previous days. He kissed his mate all over his face, “You’ll make me so happy.”

Waylon was too amused to notice Eddie’s slip in tense.

“So is that actually what’s been up these past few days, you were feeling homesick?”

“Something like that,” Eddie responded evasively, distracting his mate by kissing at his neck enthusiastically, “When do you think we’d be able to leave?”

Waylon didn’t take his over-eagerness as a warning. “Any time, really. I just need to call for Miles and get him to take us. The rest of the kids are hardly around anymore, so I’m sure they won’t hold it against me if I spend some time elsewhere.”

“Mm, I’ll hold something against you if we go elsewhere…” Eddie cooed, continuing to attack the Beta’s neck.

“That was weak, Ed. Not even sexy to ‘hold something against’ someone,” Waylon deadpanned, but his body disagreed as his arousal stood straight, tenting his boxers like an arrow towards Eddie.

“Sure, darling,” Eddie noticed, rubbing his thigh into Waylon’s groin, “Whatever you say.”

Waylon had a slight concern that they were making a mess with their breakfast and plates now being spread around on his bed, but those thoughts were chased away by Eddie’s tantalising tongue.

It continued to amaze Waylon that Eddie was so virile with Waylon even though he was a Beta. It did wonders for his self-esteem. It also made him wonder mutely if it would be different if he were an Omega and if those differences would be for the better or for the worse. He supposed he’d never get the opportunity to find out, and the idea of anything being better than how things had been with Eddie since their mating was difficult to imagine. Eddie groaned into Waylon’s mouth and asserted his position over the Beta’s body by humping his erection against Waylon’s leg and sticking his nose into Waylon’s neck. Being an Alpha, Eddie undoubtedly had a powerful set of olfactory senses. Scent was an important aspect of Alpha/Omega relationships, and apparently Eddie also enjoyed whatever underlying scent Waylon had. Meanwhile, Eddie always smelled like a freshly pressed suit.

Except for now, of course, when Eddie smelled like pure and unadulterated sex. Waylon might not have been an Omega, but it still drove him crazy.

“Fuck, Ed,” Waylon groaned, trying to remove Eddie’s clothing but being denied when Eddie simply grabbed each of his hands and pinned them to the bed.

“No,” Eddie growled, “Hold still now, darling.”

He said it like a command, but Waylon couldn’t move even if he wanted to. 

He had no hesitation relinquishing his control to Eddie; his mate just wanted to make him feel good.

“Ugh, Ed, if you make me—gonna make me—” Waylon suddenly grunted as Eddie palmed Waylon’s arousal through his boxers and the Beta climaxed without any further stimulation. It would’ve been embarrassing, and gross, but Waylon was almost impressed with himself, “—do that.” Waylon sighed, knowing that as soon as the bliss wore off he’d be frustrated at having stained his shorts, as Eddie kept humping against him desperately.

“Open your mouth,” Eddie demanded, but he used one hand to force Waylon’s mouth wide open regardless. Then in one swift movement he climbed up Waylon’s body, pulled his cock out of his own boxers and shoved his member to the back of Waylon’s throat. 

Eddie was silent aside from his panting as his cock pulsed his seed into Waylon’s gullet. Waylon admired his self-control at not thrusting aggressively into Waylon’s mouth like he had expected. It was almost like Eddie considered this some kind of gift. Perhaps it was an Alpha thing, Waylon mused.

After a few moments, Eddie pulled out of Waylon’s mouth and closed his lips. “We should pack,” Eddie said breathlessly, dismounting Waylon’s face and lying next to him, their breakfasts forgotten and strewn all over the bed.

“Definitely. And clean up,” Waylon agreed, “And I should brush my teeth.”

“Thank you, darling,” Eddie kissed his dirty mouth, “We’re going to be beautiful.”


	7. Assimilation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They move back and Waylon sets out building a life there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm running out of subtly relevant 'A' words to jam into this fic's titles. I didn't even realise it had become a gimmick until about 3 chapters in.  
> This took a while, but I feel better about this chapter.

“When do you go back to work?” Waylon asked conversationally as the pair once again made their way into Eddie’s tiny apartment. Someone as spoiled as Waylon should have found the location repulsive, but instead he found himself so comfortable just because he was in Eddie’s space.

Eddie was carrying Waylon’s suitcase of belongings enthusiastically into the apartment, an irreplaceable grin plastered across his features ever since the Beta had agreed to come back with him. “I usually work on my designs at home, and I got… removed from the construction project I was working after missing a few days.” Waylon spluttered in surprise that Eddie had omitted that little detail from their conversation. “Relax, darling. I didn’t need the money that badly, anyway.” It was a blatant lie, but Eddie had found something far more valuable to dedicate his time to. The larger man deposited Waylon’s suitcase in their room and then hovered in the doorway to look over the apartment. Nothing had changed in the time that it had been left alone.

“I-I guess I just imagined that we were somehow separated from the real world,” Waylon shrugged, still clearly taken aback. “They wouldn’t understand that you were, uh, otherwise engaged?” 

Eddie gave him a lewd grin at the Beta’s roundabout way of saying they had been busy being intimate. “It’s not important. This way I can spend more time with you anyway.”

It was an ever-present worry of the Beta’s that they would eventually get sick of each other, but clearly that wasn’t happening for Eddie any time soon. Spending all day every day together couldn’t be without ramifications to their relationship, though. “I might see if I can find any work around here,” Waylon commented and the Alpha, who had been casually glancing about his apartment, immediately snapped his gaze to his mate.

“Why would you need to do that?”

“Uh,” Waylon gaped dumbly at Eddie’s unexpected response. Did he want Waylon to just sit around doing nothing? “Because I’d like to?”

Eddie considered it for a moment before shrugging it off nonchalantly, strolling towards the kitchen bench to check the supplies in the fridge. “You don’t need money.”

Waylon blinked a few times to process what was going on and how he should be feeling regarding it. “I-I don’t know what to say.” Eddie sniffed the milk and grimaced at what assaulted his nostrils. Eddie’s personality had been changing drastically in the few weeks since their first mating. At first the Alpha had seemed overly content with everything and allowed Waylon to take charge; then he had grown thoughtful and cautious; and now he had become confident and focussed, as if he had some goal in mind. Whatever that goal was, Waylon wasn’t comfortable with how much Eddie was becoming more controlling and Alpha-like. It was disconcerting to see those qualities in his friend-turned-mate.

At his silence, Eddie turned and gave him a calculating look. The larger man sighed and then came to embrace Waylon where he was hovering awkwardly in the entry-space. “Sorry, darling. If you want to get a job then that’s entirely fine.” He nuzzled his nose into Waylon’s neck and inhaled deeply, “I just worry that you aren’t familiar with this… calibre of neighbourhood.”

Just like that, Waylon relaxed into his mate’s hold. All the Beta’s suspicious had been assuaged by Eddie’s words. He was just worried—and perhaps, given Waylon’s less-than-impressive physical prowess, such worries were not unfounded.

Eddie snuffled against Waylon’s neck, tickling the small Beta, “I hate to think of you suffering without me.”

“Eddie, I—” the Alpha licked his pulse and Waylon shivered. They separated minutely, Eddie still holding loosely onto Waylon’s biceps. “I still want to work, but I understand that I don’t really know the lay of the land around here like you do.” Eddie grumbled at Waylon’s answer, “Is there anywhere nearby you’d be the most comfortable with me working? With my last name I should be able to get employment anywhere, as terrible as that is.”

“You could work for me,” Eddie suggested casually, but at Waylon’s disapproving glare he quickly remedied his answer, “There’s a coffee shop across the street that I go to occasionally. I know the owner, he’s a good man. Priest, in-fact.”

“Awesome. I’ll drop by later this afternoon and check it out.” Waylon decided, giving Eddie an excited, genuine smile and a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

Eddie just rolled his eyes and then rubbed his cheek gently when Waylon left to unpack his things in the bedroom. He needed to go to the store and buy some groceries later, anyway.

 

Later, after unpacking and discerning what supplies they needed to get, Eddie and Waylon made their way across the street to Waylon’s potential new workplace.

Eddie had spent those few years since he had graduated and moved to Mount Massive frequenting the coffee shop to clear his mind. It was difficult sometimes to make dresses for strangers when his mind was always clogged with the designs he fantasised creating for Waylon. In all the times he had frequented the quaint little establishment, he had not once felt threatened or encroached upon. The atmosphere was always warm and welcoming, and the other customers and staff never gave him any ill-feelings. It was really one of the few nice places in this part of town.

Now, as Eddie passed the threshold with Waylon in tow, it felt different. It was like the tiny store was a front for all kinds of dangerous activity and every step further Waylon took was another step out of Eddie’s protective embrace, even though the Beta was following a step behind him. It was surreal how quickly the Alpha’s perspective could change with a little of Waylon’s influence.

The Twins that worked at the establishment had transformed from quirky baristas to imposing, dominating Alphas intent to whisk Waylon away. Father Martin ran the establishment but spent most of his time reclining at a table, allowing his hired muscle to do most of the labour. He had morphed in Eddie’s eyes from a dedicated, quiet old man into a wild and unstable fanatic.

The customers were no exception, with arsonists, rapists and murderers skulking about in Eddie’s periphery. They lurked in the shadows, watching and waiting for Eddie to leave Waylon’s side so that they could steal the Beta from him.

Eddie stopped walking with a frustrated grunt and grabbed Waylon from behind him. The urge to just walk right out of the coffee shop, dragging Waylon with him, was tempting. He knew, though, that Waylon would just get grumpy at him. Despite being given very little from his parents, his mate loved his independence. Instead, Eddie slung his arm around Waylon’s shoulders and cast his eyes frantically around the establishment. Anyone that dared to raise a glance to Waylon—which was very few, because Eddie was just being paranoid and most of the patrons were content to just go about their business—got a stern glare from Eddie.

They arrived at the front counter and Father Martin himself greeted them. It was rare for the man to work despite it being his own coffee shop, but it was convenient considering their business there. “Eddie, I haven’t seen you in almost a month! It’s good to see you.” He regarded his arm slung around Waylon’s shoulder with a smirk. Eddie wanted to puff his chest out in pride that his gesture had gotten the message across: Waylon was his. “And who is this?”

Eddie made to answer for him, “This is my—”

“Waylon Park, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He stuck out a hand and the two formalised their greeting with a handshake.

Eddie felt a little peeved that he didn’t get to introduce Waylon with the phrase, ‘my mate Waylon’, but figured that he’d get another chance at some point. 

“The pleasure is all mine,” he responded, but neither missed the way his eyes widened a bit at the name. “I’m Father Martin, in case you were unaware. What can I get you two?”

“I’d love some tea, but I was actually wondering if you had any work available.”

Eddie remained hovering next to Waylon as he brought up their visit’s purpose. As each moment passed without incident, he began to feel himself letting his guard down. Father Martin and the Twins weren’t monsters, and even if he had no way of knowing if the customers were, he did trust the staff to protect him or at least call Eddie if anything happened. The itchy feeling was still there in the back of Eddie’s head, but it was dulled for now, and the Alpha rubbed his mate’s shoulder gently to encourage him as he discussed employment.

“Well for you, I’m sure we could find something. It’s just the three of us most of the time, so I’d hardly pass up the chance for a new member of the team.” Father Martin looked at Eddie, “If you’ve got some time I’d be able to whip out a contract and sort out the fine print?”

Waylon furrowed his brow and looked at Eddie with confusion at the offer being directed at Eddie rather than him. Eddie was just as confused. Wasn’t Waylon the one getting the job?

Then Waylon’s face darkened and it occurred to Eddie a few moments after it occurred to his mate, “Oh, no, Waylon’s a Beta. Not an Omega. Even if he were, he’d be perfectly capable of making his own decisions.”

The look Waylon gifted him after he said that made Eddie’s heart soar. He felt the need to keep talking and try and milk it for all it was worth, but Father Martin’s voice luckily interrupted any embarrassment for Eddie. “Of course, sorry. I just assumed. In that case, Waylon, if you’d like we can sit down and sort this out?”

Waylon’s warm smile lingered even after his attention had been taken by Father Martin, “I’d love to.”

The priest made a hand gesture and made his way out from behind the counter. One of the twins took his position, formidable body and menacing features a betrayal to their skill in customer service.

As Father Martin shepherded them to one of the few booths in the shop, Waylon made a suggestion, “If you’re okay with it, you could go do the grocery shopping while I sort out things here.” His words said ‘you have a choice here’ but his eyes said ‘I’m Waylon Park and I’m my own individual that doesn’t need an Alpha to stand by and watch as I sort out a contract’.

If it were even five minutes ago, Eddie would have strung up the man that dared to suggest he leave Waylon’s side, and scorn the idea of his mate being out of his arms. But over the course of just a few moments, he felt a semblance of his usual comfort with this place bleeding over him and washing away his anxiousness. “Of course, darling.” 

He pecked Waylon gently on the lips and made to exit, but the Beta quickly latched onto his forearm with an iron grip and whispered into his ear, “This way we’ll have more time later.” The sentence wasn’t that suggestive, but Eddie could tell when Waylon was trying to be seductive. He didn’t know that he didn’t even need to try to have Eddie panting after him, but it was endearing all the same. “I’ll see you at the apartment, Ed.”

“Of course, darling.” He said once more, with a satisfied grin on his face.

 

That night they lay in bed, sweaty and tired. Eddie had an arm wrapped around Waylon’s waist that ensured he had the other man’s back pressed firmly against him and Waylon had a leg tucked between both of his mate’s. 

The bed wasn’t nearly as comfortable as the one they’d been sleeping in for the past few days, but it did a better job at immersing the Beta in the Alpha’s scent, so Eddie slept deeply and contentedly.

Waylon, on the other hand, found the bed just as comfortable as his one at home because his smaller frame dictated a less sensitive spine. He slept blissfully because of the gently snuffling of his mate against the back of his neck and the resounding sensation of being at home in the Alpha’s arms.


	8. Adherence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some minor sympathy for Eddie and sexy times before things take a turn for the worse in the coming chapters.

It didn’t take long before the mated pair had found themselves in a kind of comfortable rhythm back at Mount Massive. Waylon would wake up early—but not as early as Eddie—kiss Eddie goodbye, and then head across the street to work. Eddie would work on his designs in the blissful atmosphere of their apartment, basking in the scent of Waylon to give him inspiration.

Any of the money Waylon earned at his new job he gave to Eddie. While the Alpha had been initially reluctant to accept it, Waylon was quick to make him agree when he said “Money is no object.” Or perhaps he said something else entirely, Eddie was distracted by the man’s mouth wrapped around his dick at the time. Regardless, Eddie had agreed, and the money helped both of them. It was a win-win.

Every day at lunch time Eddie would head down to the coffee shop and have a meal with his mate. It added to the whole domesticity of the situation, and it also gave Eddie time to casually scent Waylon and rub over the spots where a stranger’s scent was on him.

Of course, Eddie didn’t spend all day making his designs. He wasn’t quite well-known enough to get more than one or two jobs at a time. And while the Alpha loved working on his fashion and was usually content to put all of his time and effort into making spectacular dresses, now he had something even more spectacular to work on: making the perfect mate.

That wasn’t to say that Eddie didn’t think Waylon wasn’t perfect already. He was, but Eddie could sense that under the surface he still had even more unutilised potential. Potential which the Alpha was determined to unleash. He was just helping Waylon to feel like Eddie saw him: beautiful.

So when Eddie wasn’t humming a song to himself while he worked away at a dress, he was scouring the internet for information on safely modifying a person’s gender. Despite his first suspicion that it was a lost cause, there was actually a plethora of information on the subject. It seemed that perhaps his dream could become a reality after all. He’d have to practice first, of course, but Eddie still had a certain spring to his step as he walked down at midday to have lunch with his mate.

Eddie sang a tune under his breath as he crossed the street, “When I was a boy my mother often said to me, get married son and see how happy you will be.” He opened the door to the cafe with a flourish, “I have looked all over, but—”

Eddie’s blood suddenly ran cold, a stone settling in his gut, before the stone exploded in a wildfire and he felt a fury like no other surging around his gut, seeking release.

Waylon was sitting at their usual table, but there was some whore in Eddie’s seat. She was clearly chatting Waylon up. She laughed a shrill little sound that resounded with the beat of Eddie’s heart in his ears. Then, as if she hadn’t encroached on what was clearly Eddie’s territory enough, she had the audacity to reach out a hand and place it firmly on Waylon’s bicep. It was such a sluttish thing to do, really.

“Darling,” Eddie greeted through gritted teeth, barely reigning himself in from tearing this bitch limb from limb. “Whore.”

“Excuse me?” the woman checked, looking uncertain if she’d heard him correctly.

“Who?” he grit out, still flaring his nostrils and looking every bit the intimidating Alpha that someone of his size could be.

“Oh, Eddie, this is Lisa.” Waylon explained, grinning. Eddie’s poor mate was so oblivious to the threat. It was almost palpable how she had dug her claws into him, intent to drag him away with her.

“My seat,” Eddie replied lamely instead of acknowledging this ‘Lisa’ woman.

“Oh, sorry,” she apologised, standing up. Eddie’s only thought was ‘you better be’.

Eddie took his seat next to Waylon and felt the anger beginning to ebb at the familiarity.

Until Lisa grabbed another chair and dragged it over to the table.

“Lisa’s gonna start working here soon,” his mate commented with a grin that juxtaposed Eddie’s expression.

Eddie sniffed the air cautiously, choosing for once not to focus on Waylon’s scent and instead to focus on the slut’s. It was masked with flowery perfume that burned like vinegar to Eddie, but it was still unmistakable. Beta. That somehow made it better than if she were a rare female Alpha or an Omega, but Eddie still wanted her to leave Waylon alone. “You’re Eddie, right? Waylon’s told me all about you.”

It almost felt like a betrayal for Waylon to tell this interloper about them, but perhaps if his mate had detailed the specifics of their sex life she could take the hint and go fawning after someone else. “All good things, I hope.” Eddie’s anger apparently either wasn’t perceived or wasn’t acknowledged.

“Of course,” Waylon interjected, grabbing Eddie’s hand across the table and rubbing his knuckles affectionately, “As far as getting-together stories go, we’ve got quite the ripper.”

For Eddie, their getting together story had been being written from the moment they first met. It was quite spectacular. A true Romeo and Juliet, but without the murder. Only Eddie wasn’t sure that would remain true if this Lisa didn’t learn her place quickly.

Eddie’s death glares and anger must have finally registered to the foolish woman, because she gave the Alpha a cautious glance and then announced, “I should be going.”

It was early, and she probably didn’t need to be going. Eddie felt like he’d won. “Oh, well it was nice meeting you, Lisa. We’ll start training tomorrow as planned?”

“Nice meeting you, too. And of course,” she replaced the chair she had swapped over and then gave a hesitant farewell wave to Eddie.

“Goodbye,” Eddie imparted, grinning widely and friendlily in a parody to his previous self as she left. As soon as the door to the shop closed behind her, Eddie grabbed Waylon by the collar and pulled him halfway across the table so he could bury his nose the skin between his neck and his shoulder.

“Ow, Eddie,” Waylon scrambled as a salt shaker dug into his breastbone. He stilled when the Alpha started to gulp down deep breaths of his scent. There were times when Waylon wasn’t certain if it was an Alpha thing or an Eddie thing, but this time it was certain to be an Alpha thing. He placed his hands firmly under himself so the position wasn’t quite as straining. “What’s wrong? Was it Lisa?”

Eddie manoeuvred Waylon around the table and then held the smaller man against him, muttering, “Whore. Who did she think she was? Touching you.”

Waylon scoffed, “Plenty of people touch me; it’s a coffee shop.” Eddie gave him a horrified expression and the Beta scrambled to correct himself, “I mean to say, you’ve never had issue with strangers before. It’s not like I’m gonna run away with her or anything.”

“I-I suppose you’re right,” Eddie agreed, though he was still throbbing with a desire for aggression. His mate didn’t deserve Eddie being all controlling after all the Beta had done for him. He stood abruptly, abandoning the diminishing pretence of a pleasant lunch with his mate. Waylon shouldn’t have to see Eddie when he’s like this. “I’ll see you tonight, darling.”

Eddie pecked him on the cheek, released his grip and then promptly bolted back to his apartment.

 

It had been a long time since Eddie had suffered an attack like this. He had long ago tried to abandon the memories of his uncle and father; and when he was pursuing Waylon his traumas hadn’t had time to resurface. Now, though, he had inadvertently channelled his monstrous tormentors in his treatment of Waylon.

He lay in their shared bed and surrounded him in the scent of his mate, grabbing a shirt form the laundry pile and rubbing it over his face. He needed to ground himself. The Alpha reminded himself repeatedly that he was his own person, and that the terrible things he had been put through didn’t define him. Nothing in his love for Waylon was twisted by what had been done to him. Nothing. Eddie was perfectly normal, and his love for Waylon was entirely healthy.

 

They ate dinner in silence, for which Eddie wasn’t sure if he was grateful or disappointed. He wondered if perhaps Waylon was mad at him, even though he just kept looking at him with a worried look.

When they lay in bed, side-by-side, naked, but barely touching, Eddie conceded, “Sorry, darling. I just felt like a caveman today. I don’t want to worry you.”

As soon as Eddie had taken the initiative, he knew it was the right thing to do. Waylon rolled over and grabbed his chin, “It’s fine, Eddie. I just want you to feel comfortable.”

Eddie grabbed Waylon’s chin gently in a parody of his mate’s gesture and pulled him into a searing kiss before he could instigate a full emotional discussion for which Eddie wasn’t quite ready. He licked into Waylon’s mouth, getting heady with the sensation as his mate gave him touch for the first time in hours. Eddie stood by his belief that their love was completely healthy.

He grabbed Waylon by the enticing globs of his ass and pulled him until he was straddling Eddie. Waylon laughed into the kiss and bared his neck for the Alpha to mark, “Comfortable now?”

As if an answer, Eddie’s erection poked into Waylon’s thigh. The Alpha held Waylon tight and then flipped them so he was pressing the Beta into the mattress, snug in the delightful space between his mate’s legs. “Very.”

Waylon adjusted a little to being on his back and Eddie grunted as his cock nudged Waylon’s taint. “Finding your mark, Ed?” Waylon teased.

Eddie growled and maintained his focus on holding Waylon still. He wanted to just use his hips to guide himself inside. Preparation be damned, he needed this. He thrust forward hard and the dewy, throbbing head of his cock nudged the opening, but didn’t quite make it inside. It slipped upwards, leaving a trail of precum and poked below Waylon’s balls. It wasn’t quite where he intended for it to end up, but he could be humping Waylon’s arms and he’d still get off.

“Fuck, Waylon,” he reared back and spat liberally on his dick. Waylon’s hand wrapped around it and spread the spit up and down the shaft for him. The sight was marvellous.

“More spit,” Waylon urged, apparently also resolved to the idea of going without lube. It would be the first time since their original mating.

Eddie complied and drizzled spit down onto his cock and Waylon’s hand. Messy, but beautiful. It was like it was yet another part of Eddie which Waylon was allowing inside himself. The thought made the need more urgent, and he leaned back over Waylon’s body, thrusting forward and making a mess of Waylon’s lower back with his precum and spit-slick cock.

Waylon pursed his lips, trying to get himself a kiss, but Eddie instead spat directly into his mouth.

“Ew, Ed—” Eddie silenced him by chasing his spit with his own tongue. He groaned into the Beta’s mouth as his cock finally found some give in Waylon’s sphincter. After a moment of just appreciating the taste of Waylon, the Alpha began to rock forward with determination.

“Fuck, you’re amazing, Ed,” Waylon praised him and Eddie preened that his cock could do such things for his mate even while he got his own pleasure.

When the short hairs near his groin poked into the soft globs of Waylon’s ass and he was fully seated, he moaned a long, delighted sound directly into Waylon’s ear. “I’ll try not to hurt you,” Eddie promised in a moment of warmth before he succumbed to the primal urge to pound into the velvety heat that Waylon had supplied him. He was only human.

The pace was punishing, but he felt as though it was necessary for Waylon to feel it. Perhaps tomorrow when Lisa saw him wince every time he sat down, she would know that he was spoken for. When anyone saw the bruises on his neck and littering his hips, they would know. They’d all know.

He snarled in satisfaction and gripped even harder onto Waylon, pulling him back into every thrust. He was already panting loudly as he surged towards his release, and Waylon looked like he was finding his own pleasure in the harsh snap of Eddie’s hips.

Eddie’s knot began to tug on Waylon’s rim with a crescendo of pops. The slip-slide of his knot through the soft flesh of Waylon’s pucker was too much, and Eddie thrust in one final time with a sound akin to that of an animal as his knot found its desired position nestled inside of Waylon. “You’re so good to me, darling,” he cooed, petting Waylon where he could even as his body spasmed with shockwaves of pleasure. “Taking me all in so deliciously,” he continued, finding Waylon’s cock. The Beta was on the brink of orgasm, barely holding on as Eddie’s knot and cock pulsed adjacent to his prostate. The Alpha grasped his mate’s cock and pumped it harshly, euphoria from his own orgasm making his actions feral in their ferocity. Waylon whimpered as he came all over himself and Eddie continued stroking him, “You earned it, my darling Waylon. So good.”

Eddie was reduced to silence as Waylon’s release triggered his mate’s muscles clenching and milking his knot. He kept stroking Waylon even as his moans turned from pleasure to pain as it became oversensitive. “Fuck, Ed, no more,” Waylon complained, pulling at Eddie’s hands, but the Alpha swatted his hands away and continued, enjoying the way Waylon’s body shuddered around him.

Finally, Eddie could feel that his cock had stopped emptying itself inside his mate, and he stopped tormenting Waylon’s delightful cock now that it had served its purpose as a gearstick for milking his knot dry.

“Fuck, this is gonna hurt tomorrow,” Waylon groaned.

“Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if/who I'll kill at the moment. Any requests/advice might make it easier to write so fire away.


	9. Aptness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deceit. Experimenting. Sex.  
> Enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took awhile to come out cause at this point the story is kind of heading to the climax and I want it to be as entertaining as possible. As well as that, I got a sudden inspiration on two other fics but I refuse to write them until this is done. Thanks for being patient!

After the ‘Lisa Incident’, as Eddie had declared it, their relationship turned back to its almost benign domesticity. Waylon spent his days working at the coffee shop and his nights having the scents of every person who touched him at work overridden by Eddie’s. Waylon, for perhaps the first time in his life, felt something akin to bliss. His life wasn’t perfect, nobodies was, but for all intents and purposes he had everything he needed.

He had an adoring, affectionate mate in Eddie Gluskin. His Alpha best friend and lover. Sure, the man could be a bit misguided in said affections sometimes, but at the end of the day the Beta was content and resolute in the knowledge that Eddie would never do anything to hurt him. Often people mistook Eddie’s size for that of a hulking bully. In reality, the only time Eddie would be anything but gentle was to protect those he cared about… or during sex.

As well as Eddie, Waylon had a stable source of his own income for the first time in his life. Even if he still had an enormous fortune to his name, he could sleep at night knowing that not all of what he had was his parents’. Even though he was still technically depending on those around him an awful lot, he felt independent.

To Waylon, his life felt perfect. He could have lived forever in his current everyday life without complaint.

Eddie, on the other hand, had been busy.

Each day when Waylon would go to work, blinded by his satisfaction, Eddie was inching closer to his goal. The research stage was complete; Eddie knew what to do. The only thing that stopped him from immediately barrelling over the deep end and cutting the parts he didn’t like out of Waylon was the possibility of his mate not surviving the transformation.

Waylon might have had everything he wanted, but Eddie still felt like what he needed was just barely out of his grasp. Eddie was a great dress-maker, and he was a passionate man, but passion and skill with a sewing machine didn’t mean he was equipped for surgery.

There was no way that Eddie could surreptitiously go to medical school, even if he could afford it. Waylon would find out and Eddie might be forced to do something he’d regret. Every step had to be executed perfectly.

It was horrible having to lie to the future bearer of his children, but Eddie felt confident that Waylon would forgive him a few white lies after he realised how much effort Eddie had put into making him everything he could be.

“Darling?” Eddie hazarded. They were eating dinner on a mediocre couch that the pair had agreed to go halves in purchasing. It was certainly nice that Eddie’s mate was putting in the effort to try and help support them, but it went without question that after his transformation Waylon would not leave the apartment. Perhaps after their first child was born they could go to the park together, but there was so many Alphas and other whores around that would be hungry for an Omega like Waylon. One step at a time. “I have some news.”

Waylon lifted his head minutely, eyes curious.

“I got a call from one of the sites I used to work around here. They want me to do some hauling and whatnot. I’m going to take the job.” It wasn’t a complete lie, he had actually gotten a call from the site he had worked a few months back. He had much more important things to do than benign construction work. The only construction he would be doing was that of a uterus for Waylon.

“That’s great, Ed,” Waylon commented. His expression was gleeful, but there was an underlying disappointment there. Eddie realised with an internalised chuckle that perhaps they were both experiencing the same insecurities regarding their contributions to their collective income. Another thing that would naturally become a moot point once Waylon was transformed.

 

Later that night, they lay curled around each other in bed. Considering the intensity of their connection now, it was a wonder that either had survived as long as they did without this. Eddie dug his nose into the crown of Waylon’s head and breathed in deep breaths of his mate’s scent.

His eyes closed in ecstasy and let the fantasy play out in his mind. With the spicy scent of Waylon filling his nostrils, it was almost too easy to envision the Beta spreading his legs and revealing a slick, leaking hole just for Eddie. As an Omega, his mate’s scent would be even more intense than anything Eddie had gleaned from Waylon as of yet. The very concept of it was enough to make his heart race and his mouth salivate.

He swallowed down the lump that formed in his throat and snuffled into Waylon’s hair.

“C’mon, Ed,” Waylon complained, mouth slightly muffled as his face was pressed into Eddie’s chest. “I’m not going a second time tonight and there’s no way you can convince me otherwise.”

Eddie frowned and then realised that he had gotten himself riled up enough to get hard. His excited member pressed awkwardly into Waylon’s navel, and Eddie felt himself seeking the challenge Waylon presented with his words.

Then he remembered that his mate was probably being partly truthful, because as a Beta his refractory period was nothing even close to an Alpha like Eddie’s or an Omega’s. He didn’t want to embarrass himself by trying to sex Waylon only for the other man to be limp, it would be mortifying. He’d leave all of their more risky sexcapades for after Waylon was transformed.

“It’s alright, darling,” Eddie cooed, still heady from the intoxicating scent of his mate. He reached a hand down between them and began to jerk himself off with slow, methodical strokes. It reminded him of the times he would be reclining in his bed, rubbing a stolen shirt of Waylon’s over him as he jacked himself off to the image of the other man. Only now, he actually had the other man in his arms. It made the images his mind supplied incredibly vivid.

Eddie distantly heard Waylon chuckle as he realised what Eddie was doing before presumably dozing off again.

A dozen tantalising images raced through Eddie’s head: Waylon bent over with his ass presenting in the middle of the coffee shop for Eddie to mount; Waylon taking Eddie’s knot and a mix of his delicious slick and Eddie’s cum seeping out of his ass around it; and Waylon experiencing his first fucking heat.

Eddie climaxed with a gentle grunt at the thought of Waylon needy and hormonal, doing nothing but pleasuring Eddie as his body demanded. Soon enough, it wouldn’t just be a thought.

Waylon huffed in his sleep as Eddie painted him with his cum, but come the morning he was sure the Beta would forgive him. He dozed off with a contented smile adorning his features. 

To Eddie, his life was almost perfect.

 

The first day that Eddie had to work on the ‘site’ had come, and Waylon had sent him off with a kiss and wishes of a good first day at work. Eddie decided that he would definitely have a great first day at work on this particular project. He had spent an immeasurable number of hours memorising the process he would have to go through on both the Omega donor and the Beta recipient.

His palms itched in anticipation to get things underway. He sought the location he had already designated as his ‘workshop’ and hovered on the sidewalk nearby to find his two subjects. The place he was ‘working’ was in-fact an abandoned gymnasium near his old home. Returning to the neighbourhood brought back all kinds of terrible memories he wasn’t excited to remember, but every time they threatened to shatter his composure, the image of Waylon panting and wanton always drowned them out.

Finally, a woman which Eddie could recognise immediately as an Omega strolled past. She was probably in her mid-thirties, a little chubby, but otherwise very similar to Waylon in bone structure. She would be a brilliant donor, but alas not for Waylon. Instead she would be the donor for the man walking alongside her.

He was very obviously a Beta, and a rather bland one at that. He had none of the appeal that Waylon had. He was far too masculine; far too Alpha for a Beta. Still, he would make a perfectly fine cadaver. The pair were holding hands and displaying a certain level of intimacy that suggested they were a Beta-Omega couple.

As if it was fate incarnate, the pair turned down the alleyway that crossed beside the gymnasium. They were giggling, probably thinking they were about to get away with some public indecency between the red bricks of the gymnasium and the concrete slab of the neighbouring property. These people had no eye for romance.

He shadowed them until they had made their way halfway down the alley, still giggling like a pair of adolescent hyenas. Then, the moment he caught the slip in one of their steps indicating they had realised they were being followed, Eddie propelled himself forward and bashed their heads together.

It didn’t serve to knock them both out instantly as he had imagined, but it still left the pair dazed enough for him to drag them into the gym. There was a smear of blood on the floor outside which Eddie reminded himself would need to be cleaned up before he headed home.

He strapped the pair down to two parallel, rusty, metal tables with nothing more than mumbled protests from both of them.

He didn’t say a word to either of them, deciding it best to get to work as soon as possible and not waste a moment. He gagged both to ensure that they wouldn’t attract any unwanted attention, then crossed over to the Omega woman brandishing the machete he had bought for this very purpose.

Her eyes widened in horror, one of them bleeding red juice from where Eddie had apparently ruptured something. He made a mental note to not exert so much force on Waylon’s donor. He needed the organs as fresh as possible.

Eddie hummed his favourite song and began carving away as the pair’s muffled screams reverberated around the gym.

 

Eddie returned home hours later after a presumed ‘hard day’s work’. He looked as exhausted as he was supposed to look, which was good, but he felt dejected from his failure.

He had butchered two Omegas to extract their uterus and ovaries as he had planned. The first Omega he had butchered decided she was going to have a sudden display of defiance and started thrashing just as he reached the most delicate part of the extraction. He had made a mess of her after that because he felt it was a reasonable punishment for acting like a little whore. She should’ve been honoured to have been even considered to be a part of the journey towards Waylon’s transformation.

The second Omega, he had extracted what he needed without incident, but as he cut open the Beta recipient’s gut, he had inadvertently cut through his intestines and bled out before he could transfer the organs.

All in all, the day had been a dreadful waste. He hadn’t been naïve enough to believe he could get the procedure to work after just one attempt; if he had then he would have started on Waylon; but it was still disheartening to waste such a good chance for experimentation due to his own error.

He strung up the pair of Omegas and the Beta, just in case he found some further use for them later, before dumping the useless organs and methodically cleaning up the mess.

“Waylon, darling?” Eddie called into the apartment. The lights were off, but it wasn’t that late that Waylon would have gone to bed without him. There wasn’t even dinner prepared, which was a minor disappointment. Eddie had worked up a bit of an appetite having not eaten since breakfast. Waylon didn’t immediately answer, and Eddie’s mind started to wander to terrible things.

Had Waylon somehow figured out what Eddie was doing and abandoned him? Dear god, how could he have been so stupid as to try and improve someone who was already so close to perfect. Why couldn’t he have just been happy?

Or worse, had Waylon found another Alpha? No, that was unlikely. More likely was the possibility that an Alpha had abducted his mate for their own heinous desires. What monsters could do such a thing to his darling Waylon?

He lurched through the apartment in a frenzy, calling out his mate’s name with urgency. “Waylon!”

There was a gentle, bizarre noise from the bedroom and Eddie almost fell over his feet as he caught himself on the door frame. It was too dark to see much, but Eddie couldn’t smell Waylon’s scent apart from the underlying, pleasant mix of their scents which had instituted itself into the very walls of their bedroom. No, there was instead a very different smell coming from the room. It was the smell of an Omega. Worse than that, it was the smell of an Omega’s slick.

Eddie’s eyes darkened as he considered that Waylon might have cheated on him with an Omega of all people. If Eddie had his way, then the only source of pleasure Waylon would ever get from another would be the pleasure he got from Eddie when he nailed his prostate. If only Waylon had asked Eddie beforehand he could have shown Waylon that he didn’t need an Omega to satisfy his sexual desires. Eddie could give Waylon everything he wanted. Not anymore, not now that his mate had become a whore.

“Whore!” Eddie shouted, flicking the switch to illuminate the room and pointing an accusatory finger at the bed.

The bed, however, only had one person in it. It was his darling Waylon, bent over on all fours with his ass up in the most beautiful display Eddie could have imagined with a pool of slick running down his taint.

Eddie’s brain short-circuited and he gravitated to the bed, tearing his clothing off without thought until he was positioned where he wanted to be, poised to push into Waylon. What on earth was happening? Had he died and gone to heaven at that gymnasium? Had Waylon found out what Eddie was attempting to do and taken the initiative to do it himself? His mate always seemed to be quite the go-getter.

He held himself back from doing what every cell in his body was screaming at him to do: fuck the hell out of Waylon. He had to clear up what the hell was going on before they got to the fun stuff.

“Darling, what’s going on?”

Waylon huffed and looked over his shoulder, up at Eddie’s eyes which had transmogrified to be almost black with lust. The Beta looked tired, and Eddie wondered for a moment how long he had been waiting in this position. Was this some kind of surprise gift for Eddie? If so, then Eddie would be ecstatic to indulge himself in it, albeit slightly disappointed that it wasn’t quite as real as he wanted it to be. 

Eddie’s huge hand smoothed down Waylon’s lower back and then around the globes of his ass to run his fingers through the silky slick which was oozing from the soft place Waylon was given for Eddie’s pleasure. The slick felt a bit too cold for it to be fresh from an Omega, and its scent was too subdued for it to be Waylon’s. Eddie briskly cast his dark gaze around the room and it landed on what he had suspected. Oh, Eddie had quite the little minx presenting for him here.

“Oh, darling. You didn’t have to do this,” he commented, leaning down and licking a stripe from the pseudo-slick on Waylon’s lower back all the way up to his neck. The slick itself tasted like the aphrodisiac it was supposed to be, but its effect was subdued because it wasn’t Waylon’s. It wasn’t from his mate. Waylon’s skin tasted better, but regardless the slick was doing what it was intended to do because Eddie was physically shaking with the force he was exerting to hold himself back. “I hope you’re ready.”

“Just fuck me already, Ed,” Waylon commanded bluntly.

Eddie needed no further encouragement. The stink of an Omega was clouding his mind and suddenly he felt outraged that an Omega had dared tell him what to do, even if said action was exactly what he wanted to do in the first place. His hips went back and forth in a split second like a powerful piston, fucking himself into Waylon’s slick passage without holding back.

His hands gripped his mate’s hips in a way that would surely leave lasting bruises, but it wasn’t enough. Eddie dug his nails in as he fucked harder up into Waylon, letting his hips bleed.

There were tiny crescents of red indented in Waylon’s hips like a brand saying that Eddie had been there. That Eddie had laid his claim on this particular piece of ass.

The thought had Eddie snarling and making his pelvis collide almost painfully with Waylon’s. The force had his mate gasp out in surprise as he was propelled up the bed a foot. Eddie wouldn’t let a single inch form between them, though, and let his grip on Waylon tighten further to pull him back hard to impale him on his Alpha cock.

“You’re mine you fucking bitch,” Eddie growled. His knot was already popping against Waylon’s rim, but he wasn’t about to let this end so soon. He pulled out so only the dewy, swollen head of his cock remained in Waylon’s ass. He leant over Waylon’s back, careful not to let his cock get any deeper, shallowly thrusting just the head in and out. He bit hard on Waylon’s ear, tempted to just tear it off with his teeth and swallow it whole, but some part of him wasn’t all feral and he reined himself in by instead barking filth into Waylon’s ear. “I’m gonna wreck you, Waylon. Fuck so deep that you’ll never get me out. You hear me?” He let himself thrust in harshly once, just a single, harsh pound of his hips that knocked the air out of his mate’s lungs. Waylon whimpered, and it was the most beautiful sound Eddie had ever heard. “You can scrub,” he snapped his hips forward to illustrate each word he spoke, “and scrub, and scrub, but you’ll never be able to get my cum out of you.”

His blunt teeth bit into Waylon’s shoulder and the other man whimpered again. Eddie licked the bite mark soothingly, even as he set a punishing rhythm with his hips. Each thrust was forcing Waylon up the bed, but Eddie’s grip was firm enough that he would just drag Waylon’s hips right back down onto his member for the next thrust. His mate had started grunting with every thrust, but the slick seemed to be aiding strongly with the ease of Eddie’s cock in his passage. They were not grunts of pain.

“Smell like you love it when I pound you,” Eddie teased, teeth leaving little bites all over Waylon’s back and neck. “When I breed you full of my cum. Such a good bitch,” his thrusts started to get uneven, and Eddie tried his best to slow down and control the situation, but he was long gone, “So good… making me…” He shouted out an inhuman sound and thrust, berserk, into the heat of Waylon. His knot was fully inflated, but it was still popping in and out of Waylon’s ass, albeit painfully, through the slick. “Making me dump it all in you. Bitch.” 

He thrust forward and let the knot settle inside, no longer thrusting out but instead just grinding his hips desperately against Waylon. Waylon made a little mewl and came over his fist, having been jerking himself off without Eddie’s notice, and his muscles contracted around Eddie’s knot, ass milking his cum like it needed it. Eddie barked in oversensitivity, too beyond the use of actual words, and bit his teeth onto the back of Waylon’s neck and pressed his mate into the bed, hard; holding him still while he pumped his seed into his mate. Waylon was squirming in his immovable grip, but Eddie need only bite harder on the back of his neck for his mate to get the message and stay the fuck still for him.

“Happy birthday, Eddie,” Waylon gently whispered, voice hoarse, below him.

Oh, Eddie had completely forgotten that detail. He had been so caught up on how he was going to go about transforming Waylon that he had forgotten his own birthday. He let up a little on his grip on Waylon’s neck with his teeth and licked around to calm him. He had such a good mate.

Almost perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed Eddie's ironic statements. Any feedback is strongly appreciated!


	10. Amulet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth starts to come out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took aaages to be written because I've been incredibly busy for the past month or so. Thanks for being (a mental) patient!

Finally, after months of precise preparation and gruesome trials, Eddie felt the time was right to put the core of his plan into action. He had been spending every weekday since his birthday working at the ‘construction site’. It was ironic that the only construction that went on at Eddie’s ‘work’ was that of an Omega’s reproductive system inside Beta hosts.

It was testament to both the authorities’ incompetence and Eddie’s skill that not one of his victims’ disappearances had been attributed to him yet. He had lost count around the fortieth Omega and the twentieth Beta, but the dumb neighbourhood beat cops hadn’t even stumbled upon the gymnasium full of strung-up bodies. They were all fools, but Eddie wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth if it meant Waylon’s transformation would go along that much more smoothly.

He had finally hit a streak of successful operations. There had been at least a dozen Betas which Eddie had successfully changed into Omegas. Not one of them had been particularly grateful for all of Eddie’s efforts, though. They couldn’t appreciate the gift which Eddie had bestowed upon them, he supposed.

Waylon would be different, of that Eddie was sure.

The Alpha had already planned on how he would spring the topic on his mate. Waylon would come home from work around sunset as he usually did; then Eddie would take Waylon out for a romantic dinner which he had set up on the roof of the apartment building.

As the dinner progressed, Eddie would present Waylon with a few of the trinkets he had scored through his work. Then, after a long dinner of powerful wooing, Eddie would lay his soul bare to Waylon and explain what he had actually been doing for the past few months. The soon-to-be Omega would naturally be a tad apprehensive at first; Waylon’s sensitivity was something which Eddie had always admired. He might even end up reprimanding Eddie for his less-than-noble activities. Ultimately, though, Eddie was certain that Waylon would accept his love and the gift of perfection which Eddie could give to him.

It seemed that Eddie spent more time nowadays fantasising than he did actually enjoying the beautiful form of Waylon in front of him. It was humorous to think that there was once a time when Eddie believed adamantly that he would never be able to hold Waylon and do all the things he did to him on a daily basis. It was just so tantalising to imagine his mate after the operation that it was getting difficult to appreciate Waylon’s Beta body.

By ‘difficult to appreciate’, Eddie naturally still found himself absolutely enamoured with the man, but he also caught himself daydreaming like he used to do before the pair had properly gotten together. It left Eddie feeling guilty that he might have been neglecting his mate, thus he had hastened to perfect his project so that they could be as beautiful as they were supposed to be.

The tell-tale jingle of Waylon trying to get into the apartment and the smooth gliding open of their front door told Eddie that it was time to put his plan into action. He had turned off every light in the apartment and had been hiding in the darkness for a decent amount of time in order to surprise his mate.

“Why is it so dark?” Waylon’s delicious voice floated through the darkness to Eddie’s ears. The Beta’s voice was one feature which Eddie prayed would stay the same through the transformation; it was the perfect spectrum of saccharine submissiveness and unadulterated lust. “Eddie?”

Eddie felt his heart soar at how Waylon sought him when he was afraid or confused. Another feature which Eddie definitely hoped would remain when he became an Omega.

The Alpha smoothly slid between closed front door and Waylon’s body and wrapped his an arm around his mate. “What the h—?” And also wrapped one of his arms around Waylon’s mouth. His mate thrashed like a madman trying to break free of Eddie’s vice-like grip, but his struggles barely registered against Eddie’s mass.

After the fun of the situation started to die down, Eddie let up the ruse. He cooed into Waylon’s ear, “Darling, it’s just me,” immediately, Waylon stopped thrashing about and murmured obscenities into Eddie’s palm. “I have a surprise for you, but you’re going to have to behave. Can you behave?”

If it were possible, Waylon’s eye-roll would have been audible. Eddie removed his hand from Waylon’s mouth but kept his grip on the other man in the darkness. “Damnit Eddie, you almost gave me a heart attack. Little more warning next time?”

There would probably never be a next time, Eddie figured. As an Omega, Eddie’s surprise gifts would definitely not be the ‘let’s go outside’ variety but rather the ‘here’s something our children might like’ type. And the Alpha would certainly not scare his Omega; they were far too sensitive. Even a strong Beta like Waylon would need certain coddling after the surgery.

“Follow me, darling.” Eddie commanded, letting up on his grip and instead taking Waylon’s hand and leading him right back out the door. Waylon followed in silence, apparently a little awestruck by the whole scenario. When Eddie led him to the stairs to the roof and began climbing one by one, tugging Waylon up with him, the silence stretched and stretched until they reached the door to the rooftop.

“Um, Eddie? I’m a little confused as to what’s going on right now.”

Eddie dismissed him, though, and opened the door to reveal the romantic candle-lit table for two he had set up for them. To the side was a cooler full of drinks and three course of pre-prepared meals for them. Waylon gasped theatrically at the scene and stepped forward to look over it with his eyes shining in bliss. “Like what you see, darling?”

“You did this for me?” Waylon asked, though the question was moot because who else was Eddie going to do this for? The Beta ran up and wrapped his arms around the huge Alpha in a cute embrace. “I love it, Ed.”

“And I love you,” Eddie retorted. Eddie pulled out Waylon’s seat for him and had him sit down before bringing over their entree. It was Waylon’s favourite thing to eat as a snack: garlic bread. Eddie didn’t understand the Beta’s love for garlic bread—especially as a snack food—but he was willing to indulge it and use it to bribe his love on such occasions.

“Oh, Eddie, I can’t believe this. You’ve always been such a romantic and then there’s bland old me without a clue for such things.”

“Your birthday present was pretty romantic,” Eddie commented as he tore off a piece of garlic bread. He grinned as Waylon blushed prettily in the candlelight; the sun had just about completely set and now the sky was turning from shades of mauve and orange to the more familiar black speckled with bright white stars.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Waylon replied before stuffing his face with garlic bread.

The way Waylon ate was always very non-Omega in its barbarism. It seemed despite being raised in an overly civilised household hadn’t rubbed off on the man’s eating habits.

“I actually have something else for you, too,” Eddie commented, bringing out the first of his stolen trinkets for Waylon. It appeared to be something of a family heirloom; there were embellished, huge block letters of the word ‘BEAUTY’ in gold plates across an opaque crystal base. It was a pendant of some description, but the Omega which wore it was one that Eddie did not find particularly beautiful at all. She was, however, the one which remained splayed on the table in the gymnasium; she would be Waylon’s donor.

Eddie wore his most charming face as he presented the gift to Waylon, but the other man froze up the moment he saw it. A piece of garlic bread fell from his grip and landed with a gentle ‘clunk’ on the plate.

“Where did you get that, Eddie?” Waylon asked, and Eddie was immediately on edge at his mate’s reaction. Did he not like it? It was understandable that someone as humble as Waylon would prefer not to have the word ‘BEAUTY’ hanging from their neck everywhere they went, but he could still at least pretend to be grateful.

Eddie didn’t want to completely lie to Waylon, especially considering he was about to come clean about a lot of things. “I got it from someone who didn’t give the word justice.”

Apparently, Eddie’s answer was enough to make Waylon drown in his own tears, because his mate immediately started loudly sobbing over their first course.

“Darling, what’s the matter?” Eddie asked testily, already being tried with Waylon’s denial of his first gift. Surely as an Omega his mate would appreciate his efforts more.

Waylon wiped his face with his serviette and sniffled. “That belongs to my sister, Eddie,” Waylon wept, “My sister that has been missing for the past few days.” 

Eddie’s heart began to beat wildly at the news. There were so many questions now that had to be answered. Why hadn’t Waylon’s sister been dressed up in all her garb given her profession; how else was one to recognise her? What was she doing in that old neighbourhood? The unspoken good news, though, was that she would make the perfect donor for Waylon now that he knew they shared DNA.

“Oh, Eddie, what have you done?” Waylon asked, still crying, as he pushed his chair back and tried to quickly abandon their dinner.

Eddie had never moved as fast as he did in that moment, standing up and surging across the rooftop to grab his mate. Waylon fought against him like he had earlier, but this time he was actually fighting against Eddie. He wasn’t fighting someone unknown figure which had grabbed him from behind; he knew it was Eddie holding him and still he fought. Eddie’s vision turned red.

“Please let me go, Eddie.”

“Whore!” Eddie snarled, lifting Waylon off of the ground effortlessly and crushed the man’s back against his chest. “I won’t let go; you can’t leave me!”

“Please, Ed,” Waylon sobbed. Eddie could only wonder what myriad of emotions the man had gone through in that night alone. First fear, then surprise, the love, then bliss, then four steps backward to fear again. “Please let me go.”

Each time Waylon asked to escape, Eddie’s temper was tipped closer and closer to flying off the handle, but Eddie wasn’t about to let a minor setback ruin their perfect night. “It’s alright, darling,” Eddie assured the Beta that was still struggling fruitlessly against him, “I’ll show you where she is; how about that?”

As soon as the words registered, Waylon stilled in his arms and muttered out an apprehensive, “Y-yes, I’d like that.”

Eddie grabbed Waylon’s hand in a bruising grip so that his mate would not make a break for it without his knowing and abandoned their dinner. It was an unfortunate turn of events that Eddie had accidently picked the one trinket Waylon had an association with to display first; but just because their dinner had been ruined didn’t mean the rest of the evening’s plans were.

“Come along, darling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter might get a bit gory, but I'm a little confused now how I'm going to write that destined happy ending for both of them instead of just Eddie.
> 
> Hopefully the next update comes sooner than next month!


	11. Annihilation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waylon has a rough time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took ages to write because of a mix of factors, so thank you for bearing with me.

“Are you hungry, darling? You barely had anything to eat.” Eddie was tugging a shocked-mute Waylon along behind him towards his gymnasium-turned-workshop. The larger man hadn’t stopped discussing their evening casually with Waylon since the ‘big reveal’ at dinner. Waylon didn’t know, of course, that the true reveal was yet to come. “You’re such a tiny thing. Skipping even one meal wouldn’t be good for your health. You must stay strong, darling. Perhaps now more than ever.”

Waylon didn’t even nod, didn’t acknowledge that he’d heard a single word Eddie had said, but Eddie interpreted his silence as acceptance either way. Until the moment Waylon saw his sister alive and well, he would not say a word to the man he thought he knew. It was common knowledge to anybody that knew the Alpha that Eddie was… different. He was raised in a physically and emotionally abusive home, not given a voice in life until he took one for himself. Things like that did terrible things to the mind of a child. Waylon liked to think that they could be each other’s ‘rock’. That together, they would be able to get through their insecurities and pave out a life brimming with domesticity and normalcy.

From the moment Waylon had moved back to Mount Massive Apartments with Eddie and started to set up a life for himself, he thought he had truly achieved that. He thought that he had finally found something that could make them both happy.

“You’ll need your strength if my seed takes within you. Our child will need to grow up strong.”

Something had gone terribly wrong along the way, though. Eddie’s mind had become twisted at some point in the short time since they had first mated. Perhaps it had always been twisted and Waylon had just been too stupid to notice. Either way, the Alpha was no longer the cuddly, doting giant that he was just a few hours prior. Now, he was an enemy to the Park family. At best he was a thief. At worst, he was…

“We’re here, darling. You’ve been awfully quiet. I do hope everything is alright. I know how sensitive Omegas can get.”

Waylon wasn’t sure why, but the decrepit neighbourhood he had quickly come to love no longer felt like a safe haven. Before, he had Eddie as his shepherd through a world he had no experience in. Now he was alone, and afraid. The building that Eddie had delivered him to wasn’t the quaint old thing on the corner of the block. It was a horrific structure which held not only Waylon’s, but also Eddie’s future within it.

The pair strolled casually down the alley towards the doorway into the once-gymnasium. An onlooker might mistake them for a young couple looking for a private corner in which to do indecent things to each other. Perhaps that’s what they would have been doing just a few hours prior, but the dynamic had changed now. And, depending on what lay on the other side of the door Eddie was shoving open, what existed between them might never be the same.

Waylon held his breath as the doorway was opened and the dark open area of the interior was revealed. It was illuminated by only a few flashing, smashed fluoro lights that dangled from the ceiling. But in the few immediate snippets Waylon glanced, he realised that the man he thought was his life partner—his mate—had become completely unhinged. 

The floor was coated in a thin sheen of blood and other matter, radiating from a centre point like some kind of red mould that was spawning through the facility. Bodies—no, cadavers—were strung up from the ceiling like some kind of models for further study. A network of stiff-looking ropes with hooks embedded in them at regular intervals spanned the ceiling to secure the dead in their bat-like positions above.

Waylon forced himself to swallow the bile quickly threatening to erupt from his mouth, but then vomited outright when he caught a glance of his sister in the flash of light. She was spread-eagled on a table with a clean-looking cut down her centre and a set of jars to the side which contained whatever it was Eddie had taken from her. The only solace Waylon found as he rushed toward her was that she appeared to have died earlier by some kind of head wound. Her tiny, delicately manicured hand was still clenched in a fist. Even in death, it seemed her muscles would continue to be as feisty as she had been.

Waylon wept and fell to his knees before he could reach her splayed body. His own form felt like it had betrayed him as he shook uncontrollably with shockwaves of grief. Eddie caught him before he could fall face-first into the sticky cover of blood, but even the feel of his partner’s warm and strong body felt alien now.

“Let me go, Eddie,” Waylon gasped, too overwhelmed with grief and horror and shock to even attempt to push the Alpha away.

Eddie, of course, didn’t let go. There was an era not long ago where Waylon would ask something of Eddie and the larger man would bend the heavens to make his request a reality. It had always been a rather endearing quality of the Alpha, and was a part of the reason Waylon fell in love with him in the first place.

That era had passed, and with it, the Eddie which Waylon knew had also passed. Now Waylon was left to deal with the unstable and erratic thing his mate had become. And he was left to pick up the pieces of his only sister. The thought alone of telling his parents almost brought Waylon completely out of consciousness. If he actually had to go through with telling his parents face-to-face that his mate had murdered their daughter—his sister—then Waylon would probably die in the process.

Closing his eyes for just a moment, Waylon could visualise perfectly the myriad of emotions which would play out before him. His mother’s façade would crumble the moment she realised that one of her children weren’t coming home; she would scream and wail to the heavens to take her instead. She would fall into depression, and she would neglect her remaining children because she had ‘done something wrong’. Waylon’s imagination ran away with the vivid image and he, too, realised that he had done something wrong with someone he loved.

Waylon’s father, on the other hand, would likely dig up all of Eddie’s rotten, vile secrets and then torture him physically and emotionally. He would make Waylon watch, stone-faced, and then when Eddie succumbed, he would turn his wrath on to the son responsible for the whole situation. If, by some miracle, Waylon survived the emotional stress of telling his family what had happened, he would die shortly after to the shock of losing the strong, albeit unconventional, dynamic of both his family and personal relationships.

The situation reeked of morbid hopelessness. As Eddie’s tight grip holding Waylon to his front brought him back to the present, he was keenly aware of his mate’s arousal. In all of the previous circumstances they had been in since their fateful mating several months ago, Waylon had found Eddie’s physical interest to be something which would frequently surprise him pleasantly. Now, it felt like there was some alien worm trying to burrow its way from Eddie to him. He gagged and thrashed around in the Alpha’s grip. His struggles were fruitless, though, as any kind of fight seemed to have left him the moment his life crashed down around him.

“Darling,” Eddie crooned in his usual sing-song voice. Even that felt corrupted now, though, as the syllables oozed into one of his ears, reverberated around his skull and then dripped from the other. It all felt wrong. “I do this all for you.”

And with those six words came another douse of acid on his already overloading body. The idea that this was, truly, the Beta’s fault. As if he had asked for this specifically to happen and Eddie was just being an instrument of his will. Thoughts intruded his aching mind as to whether he consented to this the moment he told Eddie that he would choose him over his own family. It felt easier somehow to blame himself for this travesty than it was to blame his mate.

His heart felt as though its beats were slowing to a halt as Eddie led him over to a surgical table. In another time, perhaps Waylon would have fought to escape. Perhaps he would have ran from the gymnasium, leapt through windows, and even killed Eddie in order to escape and bring about some modicum of peace to his family.

This wasn’t that time, though, as Waylon lay back and stared distantly at the array of ropes on the ceiling. The Alpha sat astride his chest, no doubt challenging the weight limits of the surgical table in doing so, and began to fist his member excitedly over the Beta’s body. Even in his reverie, Waylon’s mind was intruded by Eddie’s words.

“One last time, darling,” he panted. The large man was so worked up in whatever he had planned for Waylon that he appeared almost at the brink just from anticipation alone. “So we can both understand how much better it can be.”

Without further delay, he came onto Waylon’s clothing and leaned down in an animalistic manner to taste his mate’s dry mouth.

The Alpha methodically stripped him and then approached the table with a gas mask attached to an ominously unmarked tank. “Here we go,” Eddie narrated, holding the mask over his mate’s nose and mouth with one hand and using the other to turn the nozzle. Immediately, Waylon coughed and choked on the substance and tried to slap Eddie’s hand away to no avail.

One. His already aching muscles were set alight and turned to lead.

Two. His arms dropped harshly to his sides, and his eyelids slid down like visors to block his view of Eddie’s blissful profile.

Three. A dull feeling of a pressure just below his navel, followed immediately by a sharp and agonising incision that made his muscles twitch to defend against, but were rendered limp by the gas.

Four. Annihilation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try and write Waylon's perspective as that of an overthinking intellectual compared to Eddie's impulsiveness. I got far too used to writing Eddie's perspective so I had to rewrite the chapter a few times. The next chapter will come out ASAP to make up for the delay with this one.


	12. Animation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waylon's in the recovery period for a while. This chapter is the 'waking up from the surgery' portion.

Waylon woke up to a feeling like he was floating high above the city. His eyelids were so heavy that he couldn’t even survey his surroundings to ensure that he wasn’t, in-fact, floating above the city; so it was safe enough to assume that in his slumber he had grown wings and flown away.

The air felt spectacular as it rushed over his skin and then pattered off behind him like arc trails. He couldn’t remember much besides his own name, but up here in the sky felt so right—so perfect—that he didn’t feel in any hurry to correct that.

“Darling,” a voice cooed, the sound reverberating around him.

Suddenly, Waylon’s entire world had been reduced from flying free to just that one sound. There was something special about that sound, something that called to Waylon and begged his undivided attention. He was powerless to stop it as his wings were clipped off and he tumbled back to Earth. The wind which had previously been smooth and gentle was now a gale of smoke bellowing up into his lungs and suffocating him. His eyelids trembled with the force of it and he used all of his willpower to get them to open.

He gasped awake, making a horrible croaking noise as he choked on his own saliva. He rolled onto his stomach, accidentally smothering his face in a pillow, and vomited up everything he possibly could to try and clear the passage. As his core worked to upheave everything from inside of him, Waylon became aware that turning onto his stomach was perhaps the worst mistake of his entire life. He was on a soft mattress, but the pressure on his stomach was enough. He screamed as something shifted inside of him due to this new position and rolled back onto his back in a desperate attempt to nullify the agony.

It was futile, though, as now he’d started some kind of chain reaction of vomiting and shifting in his gut. Bile dribbled down his mouth and all over his face as he tried to remain still—tried everything he could think of to reduce the pain—but he had woken up in a complete blind panic and every one of his muscles were working in overdrive, which only served to amplify his pain.

“Oh, darling,” that mysterious voice muttered again, and it sounded pained. It sounded like the person who that voice belonged to was in some kind of pain of their own, and Waylon felt the all-consuming need to help them, even at his own expense. “Let me help you,” they offered, and suddenly there was somebody gently plucking him from the now soiled mattress and pulling him up onto their lap, back-to-chest. Their body was too solid, and it almost made Waylon miss the soft mattress, but just being close to this person was helping him. It was as if his body felt better just being in the presence of this person, “It’s alright, my beautiful Waylon.”

Waylon, for all the pain he was still in, was welcomely distracted by the person’s incredible smell. They smelt like garlic bread on one inhalation, and then like caramel on the next. It was like every breath was of another of Waylon’s favourite things, and it made his mind settle the more he breathed in. “H-hurts,” Waylon croaked out, resolved that the person was definitely trying to help him, “so much,” he sobbed, letting his tears fall unashamedly onto their chest as Waylon smothered his face in their shirt.

“I know, darling, I know,” their hand stroked down Waylon’s front cautiously, as if afraid he would crack open. If the agony wracking him was any indication, there was every possibility Waylon could crack open. “Just keep your eyes closed, and think of our children.”

Something pinged inside Waylon’s head at that, and in rebellion against their words, his eyes flew wide open. “Eddie,” he gasped, the pain that had been slowly ebbing came back to him in full force, “Oh my god, Eddie, what did you do? Ed—ah!” Waylon shouted out as what felt like a wave of fire washed over him. Every hair on his body felt singed and sparking, and Eddie just placed one of his large hands over Waylon’s eyes.

“I said to keep your eyes closed, darling.” Eddie’s voice sounded impatient, and Waylon wondered for a split-second how long Waylon had been unconscious for. He struggled against the powerful body surrounding him for all of three seconds before the pain became too much and he stilled with a defeated, moaning sob. “The sooner you heal, the sooner we’ll be able to start making our family. Doesn’t that sound nice, Waylon?” Waylon let out a sound that could neither be considered an affirmative nor a negative. He prayed to pass back into unconsciousness so that he could be up in the sky again. “My Waylon Park,” he jested in a little sing-song, chuckling to himself. The sound vibrated up through Eddie’s chest and through Waylon’s body, leaving him shivering. “My Waylon Park’s an Omega. My Omega.”

Waylon was glad when he fell unconscious and left his body behind to find peace in the sky again. Eddie’s singing kept ringing in his ears, and Waylon felt helpless and hopeless as the reality dawned on him: he was an Omega.

 

After a period of flashing in and out of consciousness for what felt like a few hours, but could have easily been close to a fortnight, Waylon woke up and opened his eyes with a new sense of clarity. It was like waking up after a solid sleep-in, which would usually refer to a couple hours extra sleep, but for Waylon it had been days of being catatonic. 

Eddie was still, naturally, wrapped around him. The man’s legs were like bonds as they coiled around his hips and held him close, and he had one arm wrapped around Waylon’s neck in an almost threatening chokehold gesture with the other just gently touching Waylon’s stomach. It was as if the man was genuinely afraid of Waylon being taken from him while he slept; that or he was just trying to get a much of his scent on the new… Omega… as possible.

Waylon still wasn’t quite sure how he was going to address the elephant in the room being that he was now, supposedly, an Omega. He was planning to deal with only one problem at a time, and his new sex was surprisingly not at the top of his list. His sister was dead, his mate was psychotic, and he had a feeling that he might have lost his job because he hadn’t shown up to work for however long he’d been out. Life was at an unquestionable all-time low for Waylon, and he couldn’t stop sobbing, even though he knew crying wouldn’t make his problems go away.

Eddie stirred in his sleep at the sound of Waylon sobbing and tightened his arm around Waylon’s neck, just barely making it uncomfortable for the… Omega… to breath, “Waylon,” he slurred out, the sound was deafening in the quiet of the room, and Waylon felt trapped in that he wanted to say ‘go back to sleep’ but he felt as though saying anything at all would be an invitation for Eddie to wake up and torment him. “I know you’re awake, darling,” he teased, chuckling to himself as if it was some friendly game they were playing. Perhaps that’s what it had become for Eddie.

Waylon audibly gulped down the lump in his throat, “It’s alright,” he assured the man, even though he knew it most certainly wasn’t, “Just go back to sleep.”

But, just like Waylon had feared, Eddie took his speaking as an invitation for him to do something he wanted to do, instead of what Waylon had said. The man shifted his hand resting on Waylon’s stomach a little lower and over what Waylon could feel was a huge line of stitches. Waylon had always been a little vain, and he prayed that Eddie was as competent at sewing skin as he was at sewing dresses. If he was ever going to have a life after this, he didn’t need a massive scar to constantly remind him of it. “Do you like it, darling?” Eddie asked, running his hand even lower so that it could toy with his very, very flaccid dick. If there was one thing Waylon could be grateful for in the mess that his relationship had become, it was that Eddie wasn’t the kind of Alpha that wanted a female Omega.

Waylon wanted to shout at Eddie that no, he did not like anything about the situation they were now in. Instead, he said diplomatically, “I haven’t seen it yet.”

Eddie hummed in acknowledgement of what Waylon had said, but he was still rolling around the soft flesh of Waylon’s dick like he was expecting something. Where before Waylon might have gotten excited the moment their skin touched, now it just made some weird alien feeling in his gut stir. It wasn’t arousal, but it was close. Waylon dreaded what would happen if and when he went into a heat, or Eddie decided that Waylon was healed enough for them to start having sex again. For now at least he felt like he could delay the inevitable by blaming his lack of enthusiasm on the rawness of the wound.

“Sorry, Ed. I think I’m still a bit too sore.” Waylon didn’t even know who he was anymore. When had he become so adept at lying? There was a time when he would just break down and cry the moment he had to lie to people. Now, it all just came naturally. What he had to say to survive just poured from his lips like the vomit had when he had first woken up. It felt just as bad coming out, “I can’t wait until we can, though.”

Eddie’s hand stopped fondling Waylon and he rearranged himself so that Waylon’s head was resting in Eddie’s crotch and he was looking up into the eyes of his Alpha. He could feel the tell-tale solid line of Eddie’s arousal nudging his head through Eddie’s shorts, but that was nothing new. The man had been in a state of pretty much constant half-hardness since the two had knotted that one fateful day. Perhaps he had been preparing for (and looking forward to) this moment the whole time. “You mean that, darling?” Waylon nodded, pointedly ignoring the way Eddie’s cock jumped against the back of his head, “Oh, you have no idea how happy that makes me.”

Waylon, still trying to ignore the throbbing of Eddie’s arousal so close to him, found it in him to make a joke, “I think I have some idea.”

The way Eddie’s eyes darkened in lust, the way the heat emitting from the Alpha’s body increased and the way the smell of sweat and salt in the air intensified made the alien feeling inside of Waylon almost hurt. “Soon, darling,” Eddie assured him, shifting back down to his previous position, wrapped around Waylon, “The moment you’re better.”

And even though Eddie said it as a seductive promise, as Eddie’s powerful body coiled back around Waylon and held him close in an impermeable grip, it felt like a threat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really need to stop writing these chapters in single, short bursts and do like a bit every day. Regardless, hope you enjoyed the chapter and bear with me until the next one.


	13. Ambition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waylon is semi-mobile, Eddie has everything planned out.

There was a gentle burning behind Waylon’s eyes when he next opened them. It was like he was crying, or at least trying to, but there were no tears left in him.

He blinked his eyes open hesitantly and took in his surroundings. It was Eddie’s apartment, more specifically, Eddie’s bedroom. He craned his neck around to look into the bathroom and found it empty, and with the door to the rest of the apartment closed, Waylon realised that he was finally alone. He could smell and hear food sizzling in the kitchen through the closed door, so he figured he didn’t have much time to himself, but he would make the most of it.

After a moment’s deliberation, he shifted himself cautiously to the edge of the bed, took a few deep, grounding breaths, and then stood on his own two feet.

“Ah!” Waylon winced, falling straight back onto the bed again. Whatever Eddie had put inside of Waylon was agonising. It felt like there were a dozen knives floating around inside of him, and every movement was jostling them into his soft flesh. He huffed out an unintelligible self-encouragement before trying to stand again.

It hurt just as much, if not more, than all of the most painful things he could remember combined: having his appendix removed as a kid, being stung by a wasp and then falling out of a tree, taking Eddie’s knot on that fateful first night together… “No,” he said to himself in a whisper, just to halt his train of thought. If he thought about Eddie right now then he’d just give up and fall back onto the bed. He twisted the thought of Eddie into thinking about his family, but that was just as painful to think about. He gently set himself back down onto the bed, relieved when the pseudo-knives in his gut settled, and wracked his mind for something, anything, that didn’t hurt.

His thoughts drifted to work, but that was null because every time he thought of work, he thought of Eddie. He thought of school, he thought of home, he thought of his favourite foods, he thought of every damn aspect of his life… but Eddie had tainted all of it. There wasn’t a single thought Waylon could settle on that didn’t tie back to Eddie somehow.

He didn’t cry because he physically couldn’t bring himself to shed a tear anymore, but on the inside Waylon was wailing. He resigned himself to his fate and brought himself once again back to his feet. Thoughts of Eddie—his mate, even if the word had lost all tenderness to Waylon—intruded on his thoughts as he took one agonizing step after the other towards the bathroom.

Only a few weeks prior would Waylon have been able to cross the body of the bedroom in three seconds flat, but now he ambled along at a snail’s pace. The whole time he was clutching his belly with his hands, hoping to shape it into some position where it didn’t hurt, but it was ineffectual.

After finally crossing the threshold of the bathroom, Waylon ran his hands along the wall to his right until he finally found the light switch. The room was illuminated in a dozen flashes as the old fluoro light flickered before it found stability, and in each of the flashes Waylon caught a glimpse of himself.

He looked... well, he didn’t look quite as terrible as he thought he would. He had obviously been cleaned regularly since he’d been brought back to their apartment, and Waylon wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or concerned that he didn’t remember Eddie running a cloth over him in his few moments of consciousness. His face was red and blotchy, and his eyes were bloodshot to the point where for a moment Waylon thought he had ruptured something. He edge a little closer to the sink and mirror and was relieved when he saw that it was just that he’d been crying so much. And wasn’t that just a bad sign that something like that made Waylon relieved?

His eyes dropped lower automatically when his mind was brought back to the pain in his gut. Waylon wasn’t quite sure what he was expecting, but he was, once again, relieved that it didn’t look as terrible as he thought it would. He thought, based on the pain, that there would be organs bulging out of a few shoddy stitches, that he would be able to see into himself through the wound Eddie had made, but it appeared his ma—Eddie, was quite adept at what he did. There was a huge line of stitches that formed a sort of crescent shape from just below his ribs, dodging his navel, to just above his dick. He wondered how much work it would take for it to be reversed if—no, when he got out of this, but figured he’d take things one step at a time for now.

He heard the tell-tale sound of the bedroom door creaking open, followed by a hushed, “Darling?” He could see in the reflection of the mirror as Eddie poked his head through, followed by the immediate reaction as Eddie slammed the door open, shaking the apartment as he did so. “Darling!” He ran to the bed, throwing the bedsheets around like a madman, as if Waylon could just be hiding underneath them.

“Eddie,” he uttered quietly, and Waylon watched like a third person as Eddie realised his presence and then marched up to him. It was easier to not let it get to him when he was watching himself.

The Alpha was huffing and puffing, fury radiating off of him and cowing Waylon as he spun the Omega to face him, “You do not leave my bed before asking me!” he roared, and Waylon nodded vigorously, insides twisting with more than just physical pain. Even if it felt wrong to admit it now, he did once love this man that was snarling in his face. He loved Eddie so, so much that it hurt. Now it was a whole different kind of hurt as he realised that the man he loved had been replaced by this cruel duplicate. “I almost had an aneurism, darling, I was so worried,” Eddie assured him, and Waylon assured himself that this was still just a cruel duplicate.

“I wanted to see it,” Waylon gestured to his stomach at the same time as it rumbled, and Eddie’s attention was snapped back to what he had come into the room originally for.

“I made dinner for us, darling,” Eddie told him, snaking one of his arms to rest on Waylon’s lower back and slowly shepherding him out of the bathroom, out of the bedroom, and into… the chapel?

“Eddie what the hell is this?” Waylon asked before he could stop himself. “I mean, why did you redecorate without telling me?”

Eddie gave him a knowing look and said, “I forgot how you Omegas love to decorate.” Truth be told, Waylon felt no urge to take up decorating, but Eddie hadn’t beaten him for his outburst, so he was going to take it as a win. “I thought I’d take the initiative and start getting things ready for our wedding.”

Waylon re-evaluated the makeshift white arch, the four painted white yard chairs decorated with floral patterns and the two mannequins with outfits for the both of them (undoubtedly Eddie’s own handiwork) on display. Waylon had kind of liked what they’d done with the open area of the apartment before, but now half of it was dominated with things for their wedding. Waylon had a million question he wanted to ask, but he filtered them down to ones that wouldn’t end in Eddie shouting him. “Who have you invited?” Waylon gestured to the chairs, praying that Eddie wouldn’t answer the question with ‘your family’ because if he did, Waylon might just die.

“I was going to invite everyone, darling,” Eddie hazarded. He looked almost apprehensive to Waylon, and it was a heck of a lot better looking on him than aggressive. “But given your state, I thought we’d just have a quaint little ceremony to ourselves. I even got ordained online, so there’s no need to have Father Martin, it can just be the two of us. I hope that’s alright.”

Waylon nodded eagerly to assure him, “Yes, Eddie, that makes me feel a lot more comfortable about it.” He turned a sceptical look towards Eddie, who he was still leaning against for support, before pointing out that they couldn’t really get married because, “You never proposed.”

“I hardly needed to propose to you, darling,” he scoffed, shuffling them towards the kitchen where Waylon could see the man had made them omelettes. Waylon loved omelettes, much to his own frustration. “Everybody knows you’d say yes to me, everybody knows your mine,” Eddie sounded now like he was saying to Waylon something he’d already said to himself, “my Waylon Park. The wedding’s just a stipulation, and we may as well get it out of the way soon.”

“I agree,” Waylon assured him, sitting down on the stool with the help of Eddie. The stool was undoubtedly the worst thing for him to sit on while he was in this state, and he had to hold his back unnaturally straight so that he didn’t put too much pressure on his gut, but the food was worth it, and he was getting some answers and ideas in the mix.

“I mean,” Eddie continued, inhaling his own meal as he stood eating it opposite Waylon, inside the kitchenette, “We may as well get married next week, don’t you think?” Waylon choked a little on the food, looking up and meeting Eddie’s intense gaze, “The sooner its done, the sooner we can get on with the rest of our lives together, right darling?”

Even though Waylon was starving, he suddenly lost a lot of his appetite when it dawned on him why Eddie really wanted them to get married. It was so they could consummate it. Waylon would have to have sex. As an Omega. With Eddie. There was no telling what could happen. What if he wasn’t healed yet? Almost a month must have passed by now, but what if it wasn’t enough? It still hurt like hell. He’d only just started being able to move around assisted, so it seemed ridiculously optimistic that he’d be up for something as intense as sex with Eddie even if he really wanted to be. Worse yet, what if Eddie’s procedure was false and he just had Omega pieces floating around inside of him? The thought almost made him vomit up his first proper meal in god knows how long. “Of course, Eddie, next week,” he said. He began to regret ever leaving the sanctuary of their bed at all, but decided that Eddie must have known he was getting better if he’d been preparing them this meal. Like a lot of things, this was inevitable. “I can’t wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'll be writing from Eddie's perspective next chapter so that he's not a complete villain from here on out. Thanks for the continued support on this story.


	14. Absolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They are beautiful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A particularly long chapter for a particularly important moment in the story.

If there was one thing which Eddie Gluskin had prepared himself for since the moment he popped his knot and embraced his Alpha status, it was the moment he would marry his Omega. It wasn’t necessarily the staple in modern times to a long-term, successful relationship, but somehow Eddie always found himself craving the security of a marriage. It was like one more slide of evidence he could present in order to prove that Waylon was his. So, in true Eddie fashion, he found himself rigorously preparing for the ultimate moment. He followed a checklist he had set up for himself when he was just a young, dumb boy fawning after a Beta he could never have. Eddie almost wished he could go back and show a younger version of him where he was now. He would be so proud of himself.

The first step to a proper marriage was to ensure that the ceremony is legal and binding. Eddie had ensure that the site on which he was ordained as a minister was legit enough for it to pass, and he had completed the necessary paperwork years earlier as a kind of reminder to himself. He always knew that one day his friend would become his, in every aspect. As far as Eddie knew, their marriage would be recognised by the State as legitimate. Somehow, he didn’t imagine many officials would dare to rock on by their home and tell him otherwise.

The second step was to keep his partner pure until their wedding night. Of course, this step was a bit difficult because Waylon was most certainly not pure. Eddie was very thorough in his defiling of his mate, but that was all in the past. Waylon was like a new, more whole, and more suitable person now that he was an Omega, and this Omega-Waylon was, as far as Eddie was concerned, a virgin. Just the thought of despoiling Waylon on their wedding bed was enough for Eddie to lose track of time for a few hours, but, alas, he still had work to do.

Which led Eddie to step three, and the step he was currently manifesting: ensuring the ceremony would be beautiful. Waylon deserved only the best, obviously, but it was far easier dreaming up the perfect ceremony than it was making the ceremony a reality. He had worked hard from the day Waylon was bedridden and recovering from the procedure, but still it felt like he had so much left to do.

The arch was nice, probably as close to perfect as Eddie was going to get, but somehow even his best work still didn’t look like it was good enough for Waylon. The chairs were quaint, but they felt bare and insufficient, even if nobody was going to sit in them. And don’t even get Eddie started on the vows, which he had pre-written and edited hundreds of times but still somehow didn’t encompass everything they had to say to each other.

Eddie could see it on Waylon’s face, too. His hesitation, albeit minor, would bleed into his features and consequently drag Eddie’s mood down every time. It felt like he was doing something wrong, but then when he asked Waylon about it, the Omega would just dismiss him and assure Eddie that it was perfect. Eddie hated it when Waylon lied, but he would allow him some leniency until they were married. Afterwards, Eddie would be sure to enforce a policy of honesty between them. Why didn’t Waylon already understand that he didn’t need to have any secrets from Eddie?

“Whore,” Eddie muttered under his breath before he could stop himself. Like dominoes, the moment he let the word slip out he also crushed in his fist a piece of crockery and spat all over the breakfast he had prepared for him and Waylon. Great.

“Eddie?” Waylon’s timid voice floated into his ears and he quickly turned to face his mate at the door to their bedroom, hiding the snapped pieces of what was once a plate behind his back. Waylon didn’t need to know he’d broken anything.

“You’re up again, darling! That’s fantastic!” Eddie cheered. Perhaps a little too enthusiastically, if Waylon’s cringe was any indication, but he didn’t follow up on it.

“Yes, Eddie, I’m up,” Waylon repeated. The man had become much more… timid since the surgery. Eddie would be lying if he said he didn’t miss Waylon’s snark, but it was also kind of pleasant to have his mate being more socially submissive.

Eddie smoothly disposed of the broken plate before floating over to Waylon with their breakfasts, seating them side-by-side in two of the wedding chairs. It wouldn’t do to inform Waylon that he’d accidentally spat all over their meal, and surely there was no harm in them sharing a few bodily fluids at this point in their relationship. In-fact it was going to be an expectation of Eddie’s once the whole ‘pure virgin bride’ theme was sullied on their wedding night. And how Eddie couldn’t wait for that particular sullying.

“I was wondering,” his mate began, hesitantly, after swallowing a mouthful of sausage. Eddie always felt like a particularly lucky man when he got to watch Waylon eat sausages. The way his mouth stretched around the girth of them and his lips pulled back as he took slow, sensuous bites. He’d be sure to make sure they ate them more often.

“What were you wondering, Waylon?” he placed what he imagined was a comforting hand on his mate’s knee. It was kind of entrancing to see how large his hand was as he wrapped his fingers around the meat of Waylon’s leg, so he slid a hand up his mate’s thigh, delighted in the way Waylon trembled.

“Um,” the Omega cut in to Eddie’s trance and stilled his hand’s ascent. It was probably for the best. If Waylon didn’t set limits now then Eddie might do something silly like have sex with him before the ceremony. He retracted his hand with a self-assurance that it was only a matter of time before they’d consummate their love. “I was wondering if you’d spoken to Father Martin or the twins or Lisa, about… well, about my work.”

Eddie’s mind sizzled a bit over each of the names Waylon rattled off. It felt kind of wrong to hear his mate’s beautiful voice shaping around a name that wasn’t ‘Eddie’. In-fact, it felt more than kind of wrong: it felt fucking terrible. “Work?” Eddie sneered the word like it was a particularly funny joke. Waylon’s face scrunched up a little, but the Omega was being stupid so Eddie wasn’t about to rush to console him. “You won’t be working any time soon, darling.”

Waylon looked vulnerable in that moment. Sitting in a seat manufactured by Eddie, eating Eddie’s food, wearing clothes Eddie had sewn just for him… but still, his darling wanted more. “B-but I thought—”

“What did you think?” Eddie interjected. His voice still sounded harsh to his own ears, but some things had to be said, no matter how harsh. In contrast, though, it wouldn’t do to have his darling crying. He placed his and Waylon’s plates on the ground before turning in his seat to face his mate and taking his hands in his. “You don’t have to worry about work anymore, Waylon,” Eddie assured him, conveying just how earnest he was through his eyes. “I can take care of you.” He lifted his hands to shape Waylon’s gentle jawline. It might have just been his imagination, but it seemed like even Waylon’s facial features were softer since he had become an Omega. He always had a very effeminate kind of beauty for a Beta, but now it was like it had been expanded upon with his new change in biology. He was just too damn alluring; there was no way in hell Eddie was going to let him march out into a world of hungry Alphas now. “All you need to think about is caring for our child, darling,” Eddie punctuated his words by snaking a hand underneath Waylon’s shirt to press against his belly. The incision was healing fantastically, it probably wouldn’t even leave a noticeable scar considering how fair his mate was.

Waylon nodded in understanding and Eddie kissed him chastely as thanks.

 

Eddie’s mind was a haze from the moment Waylon’s scent changed to be unquestionably ‘Omega’. Not that Waylon didn’t smell amazing before; in-fact, as a Beta he smelt fantastic for the different reason that it was more natural. ‘Eau de Waylon’, he jested to himself. But now there was something extra to Waylon’s scent that appeased a deeper, primal part of Eddie. Now that Waylon had changed, it seemed to Eddie that their relationship was more whole and complete than it was before. As much as Waylon was pretending to be unaffected, it was clear that the overwhelmingly powerful attraction between them was growing again.

Every moment they shared together was agony for Eddie to keep them apart. Forget the years and years where they weren’t even together: these were the longest weeks of Eddie’s life, unquestionably.

Now, as he woke up on his wedding morning with his darling Waylon in his arms, it hit him just how worth it this all was. Nothing about their relationship had been easy: their struggles in school; Eddie’s struggles outside of school; Waylon’s family and Eddie’s lack thereof; Eddie’s Alpha body and Waylon’s lack of one to accommodate him; money; jealousy; murder; mutilation… the list went on and on and just got worse.

To an outsider it might have looked like a horror story come to life, but to Eddie it was a romance which would go down in history, if anybody took the time to document them. If things worked out as planned, then Eddie would tell their children the story of their love with gusto.

“Darling,” he cooed gently, pulling his mate flush against his chest and wrapping one of his legs around him. It was unquestionably how Waylon would appreciate waking up.

As Eddie’s body coiled around the small man’s, Waylon began to stir into consciousness. His legs tried to kick out the moment he woke up, but they were held still by one of Eddie’s. The Omega made an unintelligible noise. Perhaps frustrated, perhaps aroused, it was hard to tell with the variety of noises his mate made.

“Today’s the day,” he cheered in a hushed sing-song that was for the two of them to share. Waylon was evidently much more focussed on being still and quiet. “It’s okay, you’re allowed to be nervous. I only hope you bring some more of your,” he cupped a hand over Waylon’s pectoral before gently running it down, down his mate’s chest. He could feel the way Waylon’s abdominal muscles would jump in excitement under his touch. It was nice to feel his mate’s body sharing in Eddie’s enthusiasm. In only a few hours he’d be morally obligated to bury himself inside of the other man and let his mate’s muscles milk him to the last drop. And, oh, how Eddie would oblige.

“My what?” Waylon queried in his soft, delicate, beautiful voice. A voice which would sing out the name of his Alpha as he was pumped fill of his seed. A voice reserved for Eddie alone.

“Your passion, my darling Waylon,” Eddie continued his postponed sentiment, “When we get to officiate what exists between us.”

Eddie wasn’t sure if his own words were referring to the ceremony or the consummation. Perhaps both.

The dim light of dawn cast a beauty on Waylon’s body which Eddie would never tire of. He was tempted to just remain in bed all day with his mate wrapped in his arms, but, alas, there was work to be done. This was what their relationship thus far had been building up to, and it felt criminal to postpone it one moment longer.

It felt like a dream, now. Being with Waylon. It was like what they had before was just suitably intense foreplay, and they were only now getting on to the crux of their relationship. Eddie could only imagine what new heights of pleasure and absolution they would reach in the coming hours… but he wouldn’t have to imagine much longer.

“We should get dressed, darling,” Eddie announced it like a suggestion, but it was more of a command. Waylon was still adorably nervous, so he needed a little direction. “Now.”

As soon as Waylon heard the conviction in his tone he sprang up like a man resurrected, wincing a little as his muscles contracted on his still-healing incision. “Of course, Eddie.”

That was Eddie’s cue to evacuate the bedroom, because he wanted the first time he saw Waylon in the flowing suit he had manufactured to be when they were walking down the aisle. He snatched his own hand-crafted outfit and shut the door to the bedroom to make a barrier between them. Now that the moment was rapidly approaching, Eddie himself was starting to feel nervous.

What if Waylon wasn’t healed enough yet? Once they were married, there wasn’t anything on heaven or earth that could stop Eddie from enacting their consummate sex (and damn how he wanted to enact the hell out of it). It was grating on Eddie’s mind now, as he shoved his leg into the pant-leg of his pressed trousers, that he might risk seriously injuring Waylon in the heat of the moment.

He caught a glance of himself in the reflection of the stained microwave and another nerve-wracking thought surged to the forefront of Eddie’s mind. 

He looked hideous, there was no kinder way of putting it. He’d spent so little time caring for himself these past weeks that, in spite of the fantastic night’s sleep he had leading up to this fateful morning, he appeared as some kind of zombie. Granted, that look was variant on the type of zombie, but the fact was that Eddie didn’t look like the handsome groom someone as beautiful as Waylon deserved. He looked sick.

His face fell in dejection and he stopped buttoning up his suit excitedly as he had been. This was supposed to be their special day. Eddie had spent his whole life preparing for the moment he would declare himself the husband of Waylon Park, but somehow even his whole life wasn’t enough time to make it something worthy of the other man’s participation.

The door to their bedroom cracked open with a gentle creek, and nothing in the universe could stop Eddie from drinking in the view that awaited him.

His mate—his Waylon—looked absolutely stunning. He was wearing a charcoal grey flowing suit which Eddie had fashioned from the original design of a dress he had prepared for the Omega. Below the suit was a blue-white undershirt which blended the grey of the suit with the flawless pale expanse of Waylon’s skin. Instead of a tie, Waylon had apparently opted to wear his sister’s amulet. The word ‘BEAUTY’ not strong enough to do justice to his beautiful Omega’s form.

In contrast to his magnificent apparel and frankly gorgeous body, Waylon’s face was twisted in sadness. Fresh tear tracks marked his cheeks and his eyes were glistening in tandem with his trembling lip.

Eddie couldn’t bring himself to move, let alone speak. As he kept reminding himself, his whole life had led up to this one specific moment. He always knew it was going to be absolutely beautiful, but nothing could have prepared him for this. Waylon always had a way of taking his fantasies and pushing them further than he could have imagined possible.

“It’s alright, Ed,” Waylon soothed. The Omega took long, unhurried steps to close the distance between them before smoothing his hands down the Alpha’s unbuttoned jacket. On instinct, his hands reach out to touch his beautiful mate, but Waylon gently nudged his hands back down before continuing to finish dressing Eddie for the occasion. His mate always knew how to take care of him. “It’s alright,” Waylon repeated, but this time it seemed like something he was saying more to solidify his own resolve than to mollify Eddie. “None of this is your fault, Ed.”

Eddie made to say something, but still he couldn’t get any words out. Even if he did, they couldn’t possibly be as beautiful was Waylon’s were. His mate was giving him forgiveness for not being deserving of an Omega like him.

“I love you,” Waylon assured him. Waylon was crying again, and when Eddie felt an alien pressure just behind his own eyes, he realised he was as well. “I love you so fucking much; more than anything in the world because you’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever met, Eddie Gluskin.” His mate’s fingers finished buttoning up his outfit, and the ghost of Waylon’s fingers were enough to make Eddie snatch his hand back out to hold the Omega. It was just a weak grasp on two of Waylon’s fingers, but it felt like it was all he needed. He wanted to tell Waylon that he, Eddie, wasn’t the beautiful one in their relationship, but his throat still felt too raw to form words. “I don’t know when things broke between us, but I know we can get passed this. I know we can get passed anything.”

Eddie made an embarrassingly inarticulate grunting sound in response, but Waylon threaded his fingers through Eddie’s and gripped his hand in an astoundingly strong grasp. He had found such a strong and powerful mate in Waylon Park, and the other man was right. They could get passed anything together.

“I said a long time ago that I would always choose you, Ed,” Waylon recounted, “And I still stand by my words. We’re going to be beautiful together,” Waylon promised. The Omega had turned to face towards the arch with a stoic expression, but Eddie couldn’t stop looking in awe at his mate.

“Darling,” Eddie finally managed to speak, but his voice shook and Waylon now looked far too invested in staring towards the archway to listen to him. Borrowing the strength and passion which Waylon had brought into his life, Eddie stood tall and puffed out his chest. This was as much Waylon’s moment as it was his own.

After a period of standing in silence, the pair walked in perfect unison down the aisle to stand under the archway Eddie had made for them. 

Only for them to stand in silence for even longer because Eddie had completely forgotten how the hell a wedding ceremony was supposed to work. Who spoke first? When did they say ‘I do’? Was Eddie supposed to be kissing Waylon at this point? It was all so confusing.

“Uh,” Eddie uttered dumbly. Then, to make matters worse, he leaned forwards to peck Waylon on the lips. It was absolutely mortifying. Eddie was supposed to be the wedding fanatic, but now that his own had finally come up he was behaving like an idiot.

Waylon smiled softly at Eddie’s undoubtedly flustered demeanour and took enough pity on him to throw him a bone. “I think we should just say our vows, Ed. There aren’t any witnesses, so I don’t think there’ll be a public outcry if our ceremony is short and to-the-point.”

Eddie nodded briskly, hands fumbling in his pockets for the piece of paper his vows were written on. Of course, he’d left it over by the kitchen. Crap. “Uh,” he uttered again, perhaps even more dumbly than the first time, before he resolved to just speak his mind. Waylon had always loved it when Eddie twisted his feelings into actions rather than words, but just this once he’d speak from his heart and hope it was something at least reminiscent of romantic. “Waylon Park,” a good place to start, Eddie thought, “I have been in love with you for as long as I remember, since the moment I laid my eyes on you. More than that, you are the reason I even understand what love is.” For one dreadful moment his thoughts are consumed with his cruel family and their machinations and abuse, but standing in the presence of his one love, it’s only too easy to rebut them. “You are the reason I wake up every morning; you are the reason I go to sleep content every night; and you are the reason I live, Waylon.” His hands are running up and down Waylon’s arms as if on autopilot, and somehow it still isn’t enough, but there’ll be plenty of time for touch later. Right now is about expressing himself with speech and not actions. “I sometimes forget that you weren’t made for me; I sometimes forget that you aren’t necessarily mine by default; and I sometimes forget to be grateful you give me your love at all. I want you to know that as much as I crow about you belonging to me and how nobody else should be allowed to touch you, it’s not all true. The truth is, you’ve never been mine… but I’ve always been yours.”

Eddie could probably wax poetic about Waylon for another hour or more, but Waylon’s lips collide with his and his mouth gets otherwise busied by the action. He didn’t even get to say the classic vows because he’d gotten so caught up in just talking about their relationship instead. His hands fall grasp the Omega’s hips by default and he doesn’t realise how worked up he’s gotten until he has Waylon’s body flush against his. It’s like being able to breathe again, and he licks into his mate’s mouth enthusiastically and kind of noisily. It’s a good thing they didn’t have any guests.

When they part, Waylon’s eyes look dark, and Eddie can smell something new in the air which is making his body sweat and shiver and prepare itself to go absolutely mental. The hairs on the back of his neck stand up and it’s like he’s a spring being primed to fire off at any moment. “Eddie Gluskin,” Waylon slurred his name in a way that just makes Eddie’s body all the more riled up. “The years of my life before I met you, I would barely consider myself alive. When we met at school I think I realised straight away that we were meant to be together.” Their bodies are still flush together, and Waylon can undoubtedly feel how excited ‘little Eddie’ is, but somehow the Omega just kept talking through his speech. He’s either unperturbed by Eddie’s arousal or it’s spurring him on. “I’m not naïve enough to think that what we have together is healthy to any degree, but I do know that the thought of having to leave you is more painful than any other twisted thought my mind can come up with. I want you to know that the confident person you see inside me only exists because of you.” Waylon’s eyes drop down to Eddie’s lips and Eddie rumbled in his chest. The Alpha doesn’t know what the rumble is supposed to represent, but when Waylon shivered in response it felt like it was the right thing to do. “I want you to promise me to tell me everything in the future. People have died because of us. In spite of everything, I’m choosing you, I’m choosing to be yours,” a primal part of Eddie is so damn satisfied by his mate’s words that he surges forward to censor any words after ‘I’m choosing to be yours’, but Waylon turned his head and he ends up mouthing up Waylon’s neck with a pathetic whimper to be given more, “but only if you promise me.”

“I promise,” Eddie uttered in such a low register that it was barely audible. His mouth is making a journey from Waylon’s collarbone towards his mouth at such a slow pace to avoid Waylon turning his head again and blocking him. “Fuck, I promise Waylon. I’ll never lie to you again,” in hindsight, it was probably a dangerous promise to make, but to hell with danger when he was finally going to get to consummate their love in the way he’d wanted to do since he first accidentally knotted the man as a Beta.

Waylon’s expression was teasing as he pursed his lips to halt Eddie’s tongue like it was some kind of invader. If Eddie had to bring out something more… rigid to break through those blasted lips he wouldn’t hesitate. “Well you can kiss the bride, Mr Glu—” Whatever words Waylon was about to say were swallowed up by Eddie as he moulded his lips over the Omega’s. Waylon was backing up with short steps but Eddie wasn’t giving him an inch. When the smaller man’s back collided with the wall and Eddie could crowd him against a solid surface it felt like a chorus of angels could be heard serenading their love.

The Alpha’s hands were still a permanent fixture on the Omega’s hips. He held the thin waist still as his own hips came forward to grind against his mate. It suddenly felt like it was almost a waste to have gone to all the effort to create their clothes for the occasion because Eddie was going to end up ripping them to pieces.

His tongue was still lapping a relentless assault into the Omega’s mouth, chasing the fantastic taste because he just couldn’t get deep enough. He turned his head on an angle and almost whited out as he got hit with a wave of Waylon’s incredible scent.

In-fact, he must have whited out, because when Eddie separated their mouths and opened his eyes to say something dumb like ‘Thanks’, he was hovering over Waylon on top of their bed, humping desperately through his trousers. Waylon was making the most fantastic sounds as Eddie dragged his arousal back and forth over his body, and it felt so beautiful to be rubbing their scents over one another like this, but Eddie wanted more. He must have already attained some level of climax if the pounding of his pulse and the twitch of his cock was any indication, but he wanted—no, needed—to get his knot out of the confines of his pants and get it into the confines of Waylon’s ass. Stat.

He ripped Waylon’s shirt in one swift movement with a strength that made Eddie grateful that he had been bestowed with the genetics of a heavyweight. Then went his own pants. Then went his own shirt. Then, finally, went Waylon’s pants.

They were both still covered with an array of tattered pieces of once-clothing, and Eddie was kind of grossly slobbering all over himself and Waylon because he had long since abandoned any pretence of being in control. But Waylon was right, because they were beautiful together. Waylon was beautiful enough for both of them, really, but together they just… fit. Speaking of fit…

“Put your fucking knot in me right now Eddie Gluskin or I swear to—oh!”

Eddie may never have taken a command so quickly and willingly in his life. He didn’t even consider that he was already pretty heavily inflated before unceremoniously shoving it into the other man. The silence stretched between them as Eddie found himself looking anywhere but where their bodies were connected. It felt absolutely amazing to have the tight grip of Waylon’s ass hugging the meat of his cock and knot, but if he’d hurt him…

“Is that it? Don’t tell me you’re cumming already.”

“Buh?” Eddie made a guttural, confused sound as his vision snapped down to where their bodies were connected.

For lack of a better explanation, Waylon was leaking. Sure, in the past it wasn’t unusual to have Waylon be leaking some kind of fluids be it lube or Eddie’s semen, but now it was… Waylon’s own. It was new, and it was exciting, and it was hot, and it was amazingly fortunate because Eddie was very, very concerned that he had ripped something.

“Oh,” Eddie stated intelligently, hips already rocking in and out slowly on autopilot, just gently tugging at Waylon’s rim with his partially-inflated knot before making their hips flush again. And again. And again. “Not it,” he answered Waylon’s question as articulately as he could. If he really wanted to he could probably climax at any moment and start filling Waylon up without drawing their sex out.

But he was Eddie Gluskin, and this was Waylon Park, and this was their first sex as a married couple (assuming their ceremony was even legal considering how much of it got glossed over after all his meticulous work). It was going to be drawn out for as long as Eddie could manage it.

He pulled his hips back enough that it must have been bordering on painful how his knot was tugging on Waylon’s rim. The Omega tried to push his hips back and chase the feeling of being filled, but Eddie just held his hips hard so that his mate had to endure it. Finally, the pressure hit a turning point and Eddie’s cock and knot slipped from the passage of Waylon’s ass with a wet squelch. He was still hard enough to cut diamonds, having starved himself of properly knotting Waylon’s ass. The sight of Waylon’s hole clenching on air, leaking the delicious-smelling slick that indicated the Omega’s arousal was hypnotic. Eddie pulled Waylon up onto his hands and knees on instinct and lined up his cock. The position felt natural. It was a breeding position, Eddie realised with an internalised whoop of excitement.

Waylon was still trying to push his ass back and get Eddie inside of him, like he was as hungry to get filled as Eddie was hungry to fill him up, but Eddie was the one in control here. He was the Alpha. He gently teased the dewy head of his cock against the rim of Waylon’s hole and the Omega audaciously took that very moment to shift back against him. In a swift movement his cock was engulfed entirely excluding his knot, and he found himself trying to pull back as much as he was also trying to force it the rest of the way inside.

“Minx,” Eddie snarled out, spit landing on Waylon’s back as he found himself with no option apart from thrusting wildly into Waylon like his biology demanded.

Even as his hips snapped rhythmically against the flesh of Waylon’s ass, he was leaning down and biting at Waylon’s neck, Waylon’s back, Waylon’s arm, Waylon’s cheekbone. He almost wished it were physically possible for there to be two of him so he could sandwich Waylon with his body, but the bed that was drenched in his scent would ultimately have to do.

“God, Eddie! That’s so good—ow!” Eddie bit at Waylon’s ear as some kind of non-verbal cue that even Eddie didn’t know what it was supposed to signify. It just felt like it was what he needed to do. He lapped at the skin he bit to soothe him. “Fuck!” Waylon’s voice cracked and droned off like the sounds were now literally being pounded out of him by Eddie.

His thrusts were still not quite deep enough, not letting himself give Waylon his knot because he knew it would be the end of it. The moment he let his cock slip its entirety into Waylon, he’d shoot like a firehose and wouldn’t be able to stop himself. He was on the home stretch now, but he could still tease his mate a bit more for propriety’s sake. 

The fat bulge of his knot connected with the loose flesh of Waylon’s rim and he flirted with the idea of pressing forward and letting himself knot the Omega now. He pushed forward just a little—enough that his knot was starting to slowly slide through ring of muscle with the help of Waylon’s slick. Just before it could slip in the last few inches and lock inside, Eddie pulled out completely.

“Fuck! Eddie!” Waylon shouted with what sounded like actual anger, which was adorable. His little ass was shaking with anticipation, the sphincter winked at Eddie teasingly, and the smell… god, the smell was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Much like his first thrust, Eddie forced his cock and knot into Waylon in one efficient movement. The moment his knot slipped through the passage and expanded to lock itself inside, Eddie felt his eyes roll back into his head. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he kept up a steady stream of profanity as his hips pistoned back and forth erratically.

The orgasms just kept coming, pun intended, and Eddie felt like he was dumping every last iota of his seed into the other man. The thrumming of his pulse made his body shake and the thick veins on his cock were pulsing hard enough that he could feel Waylon’s rim shifting around his sex and milking it for all it was worth.

And it was worth a lot.

“God, fill me up, Ed,” Waylon groaned, collapsing flat on his stomach against the bed.

Eddie hummed in agreement, too blissed out and too worked up to do much more. He pressed Waylon down into the bed with his hips, under the wild notion that it was possible to get his cock deeper into Waylon’s ass than it already was. Waylon grunted uncomfortably and Eddie shifted them so they could settle down on their sides, tongue licking up all of Waylon’s sweat from the back of his neck. “Thank you.”

 

Eddie was roused from his sleep later that evening to the soft sound of snoring. He blearily opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. There was a gentle thrumming in his pulse that told him he’d knotted someone earlier. He was in his shabby old apartment at Mount Massive Apartments. He groaned to life and lazily drew his eyes to the figure of another person next to him. This wasn’t just any person, though. In actuality, they were special; they were his.

This was his Omega; his mate; his Waylon Park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started cry-laughing at one point because I wrote “Well you can kiss the bridge, Mr Glu—”. Literally my favourite typo in a story I’ve ever made.
> 
> Also hope you got that throwback to the opening of the story.
> 
> I consider this A POINT at which the story can be read as finished. As can chapter one and chapter eight. They are together, and they are happy. BUT I feel there are a lot of loose ends which I'm going to enjoy tying up.
> 
> If you have any things you'd like for me to throw in then let me know cause I love this 'verse, but otherwise pucker up for some murder and mayhem before their ultimate happy ending.


	15. Actuality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of epilogue; ties up the loose ends that were bugging me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of Actuality (suitably titled: Actuality). If you liked the open ending of the last chapter you can leave it at that; but I think this ending is a lot happier in the grand scheme of things.

After all of the angst and suffering and pain that had led up to their marriage, Eddie was relieved to find that things reached a sense of ‘normalcy’ afterwards.

Every morning one of the pair would wake up first and make themselves and the other breakfast. There was no schedule to it, and they never discussed it, but their morning routines just kind of blended perfectly despite remaining unspoken. Waylon’s sausages were particularly good (and not just because Eddie got to watch how Waylon’s lips parted around the juicy meat) and Eddie loved the sweet, fond expression Waylon got when Eddie made him something like garlic bread for breakfast just for him.

During the day Eddie would work on the clothing he designed while Waylon did… whatever he pleased (so long as it didn’t involve leaving the delicate sanctuary of their home). Eddie’s designs were now overwhelmingly interposed by what Eddie wanted to make for Waylon to wear, but it didn’t matter. Any troubles that might have been caused by money seemed so trivial—so unimportant—in comparison to the reality of Waylon’s permanency in Eddie’s life.

The only issue that remained prevalent was that Waylon still wanted to work.

“Darling, we aren’t discussing this any further,” Eddie tried one night over dinner, desperate to avoid an argument. It almost seemed harder to argue with Waylon now that he was an Omega, which was ridiculous given the stereotype was the exact opposite.

“No, Eddie,” Waylon retorted with a heat to his tone that just made Eddie’s skin crawl, “I loved working at Father Martin’s almost as much as I love you,” it was a low blow dropping the L-bomb on Eddie mid-debate because it still made him go all gooey inside every time, “And tomorrow morning I’m going to beg him to let me have my job back despite my absence. That’s final.”

They finished their dinner in agonising silence before retiring for the night. In bed, Waylon would shrug Eddie off whenever he tried to hold him, and every time he did Eddie felt like he couldn’t breathe around the icy pressure in his chest. He slept fitfully all night, and when Waylon got out of bed in the morning to re-join the outside world, Eddie sat up and shadowed him.

“We’ll get there, Ed,” Waylon assured him ominously when he left the sanctuary of their apartment, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he replied, and then spent the next half hour perched against the window and staring down at the coffee shop, waiting for Waylon to come back to him and alleviate the pain in his chest.

 

“Ed! I got back my j—oof!” Waylon grunted as he was tackled to the floor not even a moment after the door closed behind him. Eddie was like a man possessed as he sniffed at Waylon’s neck and molested every inch of him with his hands. It was a mix between endearing and concerning.

“We should never fight again,” Eddie sighed out against Waylon’s neck with such conviction that even someone with paranoid personality disorder would believe him.

Even though Waylon was a little out of breath from being tackled, he let his hands come up to shape the back of Eddie’s head and panted out an affirmative, “Agreed.”

 

So maybe Eddie was wrong originally and their post-nuptial ‘normalcy’ really meant ‘changes every day based on how they’re feeling’, but if that wasn’t a perfect summation of their relationship thus far then Eddie didn’t know what is.

Waylon started going to work, and while Eddie was originally very anxious about it, the world didn’t end. Planes didn’t fall from the sky and the moon wasn’t knocked from orbit. Instead, as if it was even possible, they both became… happier for it.

Where before Eddie absolutely abhorred all people excluding Waylon, now it was like some kind of switch was flipped because now people would go out of their way to talk to him… about Waylon. And if there was one thing that Eddie loved to do, it was talk about his mate. It all passed as a kind of blur of his own daydreaming and other’s delightful comments on their love.

“Your relationship really is something special. For your Omega to live as a Beta for so long only to finally come out and embrace himself because of his love for his Alpha? It’s truly like a fairy tale.”

“All this time I thought you were just some grumpy, lonely Alpha who’d settled for a Beta, but you were just respecting your Omega’s wishes and letting him masquerade as one. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an Alpha as accommodating. What a beautiful couple you make.”

“I’m really routing for the two of you to have a baby soon. With both of your looks I can only imagine how amazing your legacy will be.”

It only made Eddie more pleased that people were assuming naturally that Waylon was born an Omega and has just suppressed it for all this time. The reality was a bit more grisly and involved just a little bit of murder and mayhem, but the story that people were telling themselves sounded nice enough. It was like all of his years as an outcast meant nothing now that he had a mate—an Omega mate. And even if Eddie still kind of hated to look at anybody’s face that wasn’t Waylon, he did enjoy hearing other people make the same observations and compliments on their relationship that he made on it himself.

“So,” Eddie teased his fingers into Waylon’s beautiful body, grunting whenever Waylon’s hole winked around his fingers (because something were just too beautiful), “darling,” he had three fingers in comfortably at this point, just gently and lazily nudging in and out. It was another thing Eddie enjoyed about things now: their sex wasn’t always frantic rutting. Sometimes it was just lazily fingering Waylon to completion while Eddie fucked his fist and enjoyed the view.

“Why do you always get so chatty when you’re inside me?” Waylon asked, voice hoarse. 

It was a pretty good question, really, but Eddie didn’t have an answer. He just felt a lot more liberated when he had Waylon wrapped around him or when he was wrapped around Waylon. Nobody could really blame him, though. “It’s a mystery,” he uttered, hesitantly adding a fourth finger and making a noise of approval when Waylon took it rather effortlessly. “But I’m not the only chatty one around here. People are talking about us, darling.”

Waylon mewled as Eddie hit a particular spot inside of him and Eddie grinned lasciviously. Now that he’d found it, he started to rapidly stimulate the same spot by pounding his fingers on it. Waylon was clearly trying to keep up their conversation but all the sounds that came out were unintelligible and far too high to be words.

“They think we’re beautiful together; they think I’m a great Alpha,” as he said the word ‘Alpha’ Waylon came onto his belly with a short shout of surprise and Eddie throbbed in his own fist. He shifted himself further up Waylon’s body and added his own release to the mess on Waylon’s body. They locked eyes and for a moment Eddie was awestruck by just how relaxed Waylon looked now. Perhaps nobody would have ever realised it, but there was always so much stress and pain hidden behind the magnificent orbs of Waylon’s eyes. Now he just seemed so at peace with his life that Eddie had a hard time seeing anything he’d done as wrong. They were happy together, wasn’t that worth more than the lives of the few stuck-up whores Eddie had strung up?

“You are a great Alpha.”

Waylon’s observation had Eddie come back to himself, realising he’d inadvertently cut himself off by shooting his load everywhere. He shook his head to finish his original point without getting lost in Waylon’s eyes again, “They think I’m a great Alpha because I let you pretend to be a Beta, they think I was suffering through it all and you were distancing yourself from me,” he elaborated, staring at the beautiful mess of their combined release rather than risking a look at the Omega’s face, “they—they don’t know I’m really just a selfish fool who—who killed for you and—and—”

“We don’t need to talk about that, Ed,” Waylon assured, which was all the better because Eddie wasn’t sure where he was going with his self-deprecating ramble; nowhere good, that was for sure. “All that matters is what we have now,” Waylon scooped his hand into the combined mess on his belly and Eddie, entranced, lifted his vision and watched as he licked his fingers clean. An appreciative after-shock of pleasure shook him at the sight. It hardly seemed fair. “And what we have now is beautiful, isn’t it?”

“So beautiful, darling,” Eddie agreed, and his was shaking to his core from the vehemence in his words. He blanketed his body of Waylon’s and licked their combined taste from Waylon’s mouth until they fell asleep.

 

After that night, it seemed easier between them. Waylon’s reassurance that he shared Eddie’s perspective was a weight off of his broad shoulders, and between the two of them they started earning enough money to get by and also have a bit to the side for… well, for who knows what? Eddie liked to imagine them going on romantic vacations and cruises in the not-too-distant future. He liked to imagine them buying a proper place so that when (not if) Eddie’s seed took and Waylon fell pregnant their child could grow up in a decent household with two loving parents. He imagined becoming a world-famous tailor and getting the opportunity to parade his beautiful Omega in the spotlight.

The one thing he didn’t need to imagine, though, was being the luckiest Alpha in the world, because he knew it for a fact every time Waylon came home in the evenings just after five PM.

Which is why it was a bit of a shock to Eddie’s system when, on an unsuspecting Thursday night, five fifteen passed without Waylon showing his face. He had the oven on a low enough heat so that their dinner remained hot, but he didn’t burn their pseudo-lasagne waiting for him to arrive. Eddie took a seat on one of his stools and waited.

And waited, turning the heat even lower.

And waited, taking their food out of the oven because surely Waylon would be back soon.

And waited, wrapped the dish up and putting it away in the fridge because no way in hell was Eddie eating if Waylon wasn’t there to eat with him.

It was well past six by the time a dull throb of panic settled in Eddie’s chest. Thoughts started to intrude as if leeching into his brain from the shadows of the suddenly very lonely apartment. The thoughts ranged from ludicrous to benign, but one stood out above all others and echoed with a shrill ringing in Eddie’s ears: ‘he’s not coming back’.

He grabbed his crummy phone and checked for what felt like the seven hundredth time that no, Waylon hadn’t texted him anything yet. In spite of his promise to himself earlier to trust Waylon implicitly, there was too much nagging at him that something was very, very wrong. He snatched the keys from the counter and marched to the door. He was trying so, so hard not to think of the worst, if only because Waylon would hate for him to do that to himself.

He ripped open the door to the apartment with perhaps a bit too much fervour. His hands were shaking as he locked the door and before he could help it he broke into a sprint. He took the stairs in leaps and bounds and all but dived into the street once he was outside.

The café closed almost an hour ago, but the lights were still on inside.

He took a step into the middle of the street and found himself half on top of the bonnet of a car as it blared its horn at him.

“Get off the road, meathead!” the driver yelled, but Eddie just gave a dismissive almost-wave behind him and kept closing the distance between him and the place where Waylon worked.

Several reasonable explanations were riddling through Eddie’s mind. Perhaps Waylon was discussing something with Father Martin? Or maybe a customer had made a mess and Waylon, being the perfect soul that he was, had stayed behind to help out? Or maybe this was all part of some elaborate rouse to surprise Eddie…

Regardless, several far less reasonable explanations were also, more incessantly, gnawing at his sanity. Maybe one of the murdered strangers’ families had discovered it was him and had come to exact their revenge on him? Or maybe someone had robbed the café and shot Waylon dead where he stood? All that the circumstances had in common were that they were all Eddie’s fault. All his fault that Waylon wasn’t home; wasn’t safe.

He opened the door to the café and already could taste death in the air. He could see blood splattering across the far walls, and he could see a trail of blood leading to the far corner where three unrecognisable bodies were piled up like trash. A few tables were upturned and a few chairs were absolutely obliterated into smithereens. It looked like a warzone, and Eddie felt like he was falling apart as it dawned on him that one of those bodies in the corner was probably his mate’s.

He was halfway to falling to his knees when somebody started… clapping, of all things.

He righted himself immediately, bracing for a fight, and felt unerringly confused when, of all the people, it was Jeremy Blaire that came skulking out of the shadows with his hands clapping a slow, ominous beat. “I have to hand it to you, Eddie,” he started, and at some point in the months since they’d been at the Park household, Eddie had forgotten how vile Waylon’s brother’s voice was. It was like a plague bearer dripping sickness into him with each syllable, “You’ve sure gone a long way to prove I was wrong about you.”

“But it’s still not enough,” another voice, this one manic and quivery and unquestionably Dennis, oozed into the room as the man himself appeared beside Jeremy, “Because you’re still the same piece of shit Alpha you’ve always been, the only difference is you’ve managed to drag Waylon down to something like the same level as you. Are you really that lonely; that fucked up in the head?”

“Language, Dennis,” yet another man growled out from the shadows. Eddie didn’t have to see his face to know it was Michael Park, but he did need to see Alexandra Park directly beside him to know that this was an actual Park family reunion happening right there in Father Martin’s bloody café. If Eddie thought meeting Waylon’s family the first time was stressful, he didn’t realise he had this kind of reception coming.

“Where’s Waylon?” Eddie asked, because it was the only question that mattered. Others were also begging to be asked, like since when did the Park family become a bunch of café-slaughtering monsters? Had each of them been lurking in the shadows this whole time waiting for Eddie to come down? Where were Chris and Miles? Who were the dead people piled up in the corner? So many questions, but only one mattered. And nobody was answering it. “I said: where is Waylon?” he snarled, perhaps not the best thing to do to one’s in-laws, but given that there appeared to be a bit of murder happening on both sides of the family Eddie doubted that he could do anything to make a potential Christmas dinner any more awkward.

“I’m here, Ed,” Waylon uttered, sounding far too distressed for Eddie’s liking, but at least he could physically see him. He wasn’t dead, it was just something Eddie had to keep reminding himself of. His mate wasn’t dead, that’s all that mattered.

“What do you want?” Eddie asked, and already he could see himself playing the role of the self-sacrificial hero. He would become a martyr for Waylon in a heartbeat, but it still hurt to think of Waylon suffering through life without Eddie by his side to make it better.

“I want my daughter back,” Mr Park seethed at the same time as Jeremy spat, “I want you to die.”

“I really liked you, Eddie,” Mrs Park wept out, and her voice sounded all-too-much like Eddie’s mother in that moment. It was all blotchy and emotional, begging to be fed with sympathy, but, just like with Eddie’s mother, they both didn’t do anything to save their sons from the monsters. “I really wanted you to do well by my son.”

Eddie’s lip curled back in an offensive expression at that, because at the current moment it seemed like Eddie might have been the only person present that was actually trying to help Waylon. The rest of them seemed far too consumed with the idea of revenge for their more favoured child, Jessica, or simply satisfying their hatred for Eddie. He didn’t dare say anything, though, because Waylon was still being held hostage by Jeremy and the other three people present had guns drawn.

“What do you want?” Eddie repeated, making eye contact with Waylon in spite of all of the danger around them. Because this time he wasn’t asking the Park’s as a whole, he was asking his mate if he wanted Eddie to fight for him or just them do whatever they wanted to him. Waylon’s was the only opinion in the world which he cared about, anyway.

Jeremy was already ranting about some bizarrely explicit way in which he wanted to torture Eddie; and Dennis was swearing up a storm and attacking his Alpha status and suggesting he be intensely castrated as punishment while Mr Park was reprimanding him for swearing all through his speech.

None of what they were saying mattered, though, because Eddie’s entire being was focussed on the Omega as he mouthed just one word silently to his Alpha. One word which all-too easily outdrew the enormity of the situation and snatched any iota of attention Eddie might have been paying to the appendages of the Park family tree as they clawed for his attention. One word which almost made Eddie forget where he was, because finally, finally, the universe had balanced itself out and given them something beautiful to replace all of the horror and blood and angst that befell them.

‘Pregnant.’ Waylon mouthed mutely to him and Eddie’s heart soared even as his eyes dropped to Waylon’s unsuspecting belly. Somewhere inside of him a part of Eddie and Waylon had met and manifested itself into something physical; someone who would take the best qualities from both of them and no doubt change the world. Maybe that was just something that all parents thought to themselves in that first moment they realised that they’d done it, but somehow Eddie felt like theirs was just a bit more special than that.

“Oh, darling,” Eddie gasped out before he could even think of stopping himself. He took a step toward Waylon, ready to let himself be gunned down if he could just wrap his arms around his perfect mate one last time, but as his foot flattened after just one step the little bell placed above the door to the café jingled and… and Frank, Eddie’s weird, meat-crazy neighbour, walked in. The Park family turned their collective guns to point at him and everybody held their breath for a moment. Especially Frank.

“Uh, I’m guessing that the late-night meat special is off, so I’m just gonna—” a gunshot resounded and Eddie clasped his hands over his ears at the same moment his vision snapped to see Dennis firing wildly at Frank. Only one of his shots hit, and it looked to be a mostly superficial wound thanks to Dennis’ spectacularly poor aim, but it was enough for all hell to break loose as the Park’s dissolved into chaos.

“Sorry, sorry!”

“You fucking idiot, Dennis!”

“Language, Jeremy!”

“Michael, just shoot Eddie and let’s get the hell out of here!”

Eddie took his chance in the split-second of commotion to barrel forward into Jeremy and snatch Waylon from his trembling grip. As soon as he had a hold of Waylon, a shot rang out and he felt a pain like no other as a bullet entered through his chest, rending his flesh and tearing up his insides. He could see it was Alexandra that took the shot in his periphery, and she looked almost as surprised as he was that it had connected so effortlessly. He wasn’t thinking as he identified and then leap-frogged the body of Father Martin and barged into the back-room of the café, he was just running for both of their lives.

It was like a puzzle the way he pushed obstacles in front of doors and dodged around shelving to get Waylon further from the danger. The pain was still searing and staggering Eddie even as adrenalin shot through his system, but he was an Alpha, and, perhaps more importantly, he was now a potential father so he wasn’t going to let something as vanilla as a bullet stop him. He could hear them gaining on him and every now and then a bullet would whizz past through the shelving, but neither he nor Waylon were sporting any more holes in their bodies so he counted it as a fluke but a victory as he finally made it to the emergency exit that led into the adjacent alley-way.

Once in the alley he did a full 180 to decide which side of the street would be better. Where was the closest police station? Did Eddie really want to take Waylon to the police knowing that they could put two and two together pretty easily with the Park’s help to have him sent away for a dozen life sentences? Perhaps they’d even tack on the deaths at the café and attribute all the wrongdoings of the Park family to him in one fell swoop. No, he couldn’t risk that now that he had yet another life to consider. If he wanted to be a better father than his was, then the first step would be actually being present.

The decision was made for him when Miles, Waylon’s driver, pulled into one end of the alley, threw open the passenger side door and screamed at them to, “Get the hell inside the damn car!”

Eddie might have already been grossly incorrect in his judging of the passivity of the Park family when pushed, but he somehow doubted that the little Omega driver Miles was capable of plotting alongside them to hurt Waylon. Of course he would definitely be able to plot alongside them to hurt Eddie, but that was a different story. For now it was all about getting both of them the hell out of dodge.

As Eddie slammed the passenger door shut behind him another shot rang out and glass shattered around them. He shielded Waylon’s body with his own and pointedly ignored the pain as glass and metal shrapnel and another damn bullet found their way inside his body. Instead, he focussed on the more pleasant things, like how he still had Waylon, alive and kicking, wrapped up in his arms.

“I love you, darling,” Eddie drawled, his tongue feeling suddenly too-heavy and his eyes drooped. He knew that beneath where his hand was splayed out on Waylon’s belly was their legacy; everything he had ever wanted, and Waylon had given it to him. The world went red, then it went white, and then it went dark.

 

 

A lot of the time when he was growing up, people would tell Waylon how easy he had it in life. 

Adults would drop lines on him like: ‘what an incredible family you have!’ and ‘I wish my children were as grateful as you’ but then follow it up immediately with sneers of ‘such a spoilt little brat’. Adults changed on a dime in such a way that it always left Waylon’s head spinning; especially when he grew up to become one himself and found that he still couldn’t understand them.

His peers would say strange things that he never really understood like: ‘I wish my parents were more like yours’ while Waylon secretly wished that his parents were more like his classmates’. 

The thing is, when you’re born into a family as renowned as the Park family, you learn pretty quickly how fake everything is. A family that influential can’t be normal by definition, because it isn’t a normal family. So Waylon learned when he was very young that a lot of what he thought were his family values were in actuality just fake smiles and hollow declarations. And once you know that all the love and care you’re given isn’t real, you start to wonder if any love and care at all is real.

Waylon had wondered this for years and years; always in silence, never daring to voice such thoughts to his peers or family. At the time he imagined that Eddie Gluskin, his best friend in the world, would just laugh at him and tell him how silly and ungrateful he was being. He imagined that his sister, Jessica Park, would just tattle on him to their father and Mr Park would promptly beat him until he promised to act more like his siblings.

The truth was, all those years of self-agonising and seeking actualisation in any form weren’t necessary. Because if you spend that many years convincing yourself that love isn’t real, you’re bound to get absolutely swept off your feet by the shock knowledge that you’ve actually been in love this whole time.

And Waylon found that with Eddie.

Society thought it was wrong because Eddie was an Alpha and settling for a Beta was generally only considered a stopgap. Waylon’s family believed it wrong because that just wasn’t Waylon’s role in their grand scheme of things. Waylon himself believed it wrong because their love had a kind of deliciously dangerous edge to it which promised one or both of them getting hurt.

In the end, though, all of them were the ones who were incorrect. Eddie had been right all along: their love was pure, and beautiful.

Love was barely ever the kind that they showcased in romances, and perhaps that was a part of why Waylon had taken so long to become accustomed to the idea of love. His preconceived understanding of what his and Eddie’s love should have been stopped him from seeing the truth. Sometimes love had some blood and gore mixed in; sometimes love took deaths and rebirths to truly take hold; and sometimes love took one partner doing something so, so incredibly selfish and daring for the other to realise just how far their love could take them. Eddie had made it his mantra from the very beginning that he and Waylon would be beautiful together, and, finally, they were.

They were beautiful when Waylon let go of his dysfunctional family; they were beautiful when Eddie let himself trust Waylon; and they were beautiful when Miles booked them the hell out of town, got Eddie patched up, took them to see Chris, withdrew all of Waylon’s savings into cold, hard, cash, and sent them on their way.

Maybe they were exceptionally beautiful in that last one, because hot damn Waylon was loving the way the sun set on the horizon looking out over the ocean. The masseuse was also a god with his hands, so between the view and the massage, Waylon was having a hard time remembering all the pain that brought them to this point.

Eddie grunted his arrival into their luxurious hotel room and Waylon just grunted his own response, too blissed out to really bother with menial things like pleasantries.

“Hands off of him, whore,” Eddie declared rather rudely as he put himself between the masseuse and Waylon. The Omega peered up only to check that Eddie had given him a very decent wad of cash before sending him on his way. Thankfully they had enough money to spare that they could afford to pay off some of the staff to turn a blind eye to Eddie’s… well, to Eddie.

Waylon just lay his head back down on the massage table and didn’t even question it as his Alpha audibly shucked off his clothes before straddling his hips on the table. It was a miracle that it was sturdy enough to support both of their weights.

“Ed, did you seriously just send that hand-God away so you could sit on me? That’s pretty rude.”

“I’ll show you a hand-God,” Eddie grumbled petulantly as he pulled back Waylon’s towel to expose his ass and Waylon grinned into the massage table while bracing himself for what was to come.

 

Later, as Waylon lay in their bed, in Eddie’s arm with his knot snug inside of him, Waylon’s thoughts went to their child—the actual manifestation of their love—growing inside of him.

“What are we going to call, uh, it?” Waylon asked, placing his hand over Eddie’s on his belly. It was almost concerning to imagine there was another person in there.

“Darling, did you just refer to our child as an ‘it’?” Eddie drawled, voice slurred as he slowly came down from his high.

“Well despite popular rumour, I can’t actually sense the gender of our child after barely a month of its existence,” Waylon snarked, but there was no heat to it, and Eddie lazily kissed at the back of his neck while happily humming a song to himself.

“If it’s a boy, we’ll call it…” Eddie trailed off thoughtfully, “Eddie.”

Waylon huffed out a laugh, “And if it’s a girl, Edricka?”

“No,” Eddie sighed, “If it’s a girl, we’ll call her Waylon.”

“Oi!” Waylon cried in mock-offense, twisting around and relishing the feeling of Eddie’s knot rearranging itself inside of him. The Alpha’s eyes darkened a bit and he gasped as Waylon carefully threw a leg over him and repositioned them so Eddie lay flat on his back with Waylon astride him, grinning down at his mate. “I’m not a girl, dear.”

Eddie’s eyes gravitated down to where the Omega’s spent cock was now draped over his washboard abs, “No, you most certainly are not.”

Waylon traced his hand up Eddie’s chest, up his neck and cradled his face, fingers dancing over the scars he would forever wear because of his gun-toting family. There was far too much warped skin where things had to be pulled out of him, the right side of Eddie’s face had some worrying blood-red marks that would heal but forever leave a mark on Eddie’s beautiful complexion, and beyond all of that the worst wounds were the ones Eddie wore underneath: emotional wounds from Eddie’s own family that he struggled to talk to even Waylon about.

Eddie’s hand shot up to stop Waylon’s from tracing the marks on his face. “Am I not… handsome anymore, darling?” he asked hesitantly, one hand tracing a circle on Waylon’s wrist while the other traced a spiral on his hip where they were still connected. It was a strange sensation, and it was oddly reminiscent of when Waylon would watch Eddie’s nervous fiddling back in school.

He ground down on Eddie’s knot while leaning in and kissing him filthily. His mate’s hands stopped their rhythmic fiddling and came up to frame both of Waylon’s cheeks as he deepened the kiss, both groaning obscenely. “That answer enough for you?” Waylon checked, disjoining their mouths enough to lick teasingly along Eddie’s neck. They settled into a companionable silence as they waited for Eddie’s knot to deflate enough for him to pull out. “How about Jesse?” Waylon offered, “Works for a boy or a girl.”

Eddie’s surprised expression gave away that he knew where Waylon was coming from. His sister, Jessica, the one who had died in order for their child to be born. Dennis, Jeremy, Michael and Alexandra were all in jail for the murder of Lisa, the Twins, and Father Martin… but Jessica’s blood was on Waylon’s hands, even if he didn’t deliver the killing blow to her. Miles and Chris may have gotten them far away from all the dark things that came from their love, but that didn’t mean they could just forget that people died for them to be where they are now.

“Jesse,” Eddie uttered slowly, as if testing the name. His hands loosened from where they were moulded to Waylon’s cheeks and slid down his body to rest over where his child was growing inside him. “It’s perfect.”

A long time ago Waylon promised himself that whatever happened as a result of their mating, that he’d always look back on their intimate moments fondly. At the time he’d made the promise because he suspected Eddie was imminently going to dump him for being a Beta, but, in retrospect, that was never going to be a danger. Their bodies fit together so well that the first time they had sex, even if it was perhaps accidental, Waylon had managed to take a knot. Strangely, Waylon’s gender didn’t actually limit their relationship in any way except for that he couldn’t bear a child. Even if he would have never asked in a million years for Eddie to do what he did to him, he didn’t regret a moment of it.

They still had a rocky road ahead of them. It would only be a matter of time before somebody discovered Eddie’s serial killings; and that was if the Park’s hadn’t already accused them of something in the heat of their own trial.

But here in paradise, laying connected and with their legacy growing inside of him, Waylon made a new promise: “Whatever happens… us.”

He didn’t need to elaborate for Eddie to understand, “’til death do we part,” he agreed.

 

Jesse was born eight months later, and Waylon thought he was the most beautiful boy he’d ever seen. Eddie cried and cried for about a week, and he wouldn’t stop profusely thanking Waylon for about a month until the Omega finally snapped and told him to get over it. Then Eddie started to profusely apologise for about a month to make it up to him and Waylon just accepted that he was going to have to learn to deal with it.

When Jesse was two and a half, Miles and Chris came to visit out of nowhere, telling them they had to move again because the first of the Parks, Waylon’s mum, was out of prison exceptionally early, and she would unquestionably be coming for them. They explored all their favourite places in America and Europe first, partly to throw off their location and partly because they wanted to, but then decided together to settle across the world in Australia, of all places.

On Jesse’s fourth birthday, Alexandra broke silently into their house and happened upon the three of them snuggled together on their couch. Jesse was tucked into Eddie’s chest, and the pair of them were sleeping soundly while Waylon’s head was cushioned on the Alpha’s shoulder, too afraid to move for fear of instigating his mum to fire. 

“What’s his name?” she whispered.

“Jesse,” he mouthed back, and her firing hand shook violently, her face a war of indecision, before finally it dropped and Waylon felt like he could breathe again, “My son.”

“My son,” she echoed back to him, coming close enough to stroke a hand through his hair, and then she was gone. Waylon wasn’t sure, but it felt like it was almost an apology.

When Jesse was five, Waylon realised that he wasn’t going to be having another child. He and Eddie were still both craving another legacy, and they were both still virile young men, but nothing was taking inside of him. Not to mention the fact that after just one incredibly exciting heat, Waylon never experienced one again. Eddie blamed himself, spending three months in a self-destructive spiral because he’d ‘broken’ Waylon when he performed the surgery. When Waylon offered to see a doctor about it, though, they both agreed that it was too dangerous. They’d been lucky to make it this far without a doctor inspecting Waylon too… thoroughly; and they agreed that Jesse was all they needed. Waylon started work that year at a knick-knack store just for something to do, and Eddie spent time on his designs again. They still had a decent amount of money behind them, but it felt a lot better to be stabilising to some degree.

On their eighth wedding anniversary, Waylon switched on the news to see their old neighbour Frank Manera’s face plastered over every channel. Apparently, he was a cannibal, and he had moved into Eddie’s bloody gymnasium not long after they’d finished with it. They were attributing dozens of murders and mutilations over a period of two decades to his name, including that of Jessica Park, whose picture they showed alongside scores of other victims. It left Waylon with a strange sense of peace knowing that even though Frank wasn’t her killer, her death was still helping to bring justice to a very dangerous individual.

When Jesse was ten, he came home from school crying because one of the older kids were picking on him. Waylon went on a warpath, ready to march down there and beat some kid into a pulp so that their beautiful son wouldn’t have to deal with that crap ever again. He was even considering taking things a step further and going after the parents, but instead Eddie pulled Jesse aside and the pair of them had a chat that lasted for hours. When they finally emerged, Waylon immediately rounded on Eddie and asked him what they were talking about. “I told him all of the things that happened to me at school,” he said, and it occurred to Waylon that unlike him, Eddie had been actively bullied through pretty much all of his younger years. He had a lot more experience than Waylon did in dealing with people like that, and they were all a lot happier when Jesse came home the next day with an enormous grin instead.

When Jesse was fourteen, he presented as an Alpha. They had a minor celebration with a few of Jesse’s friends and both Eddie and Waylon revelled in embarrassing their son remorselessly. Things got pretty heated in that year as he started to get brash with Waylon in particular. There was some kind of stigma, apparently, among the young Alphas at school that Omegas shouldn’t work once they had an Alpha to provide for them. That night Eddie, Waylon and Jesse had a very, very long chat about a lot of important things, and when Eddie and Waylon retired for the night, exhausted, Waylon had to ask.

“Are we ever going to tell him that I’m not… not really an Omega?”

Eddie breathed out a long-suffering sigh, “I don’t know, darling,” he replied honestly. “I think you’ve always been an Omega to me; I think you always will be ‘my Omega’.” One of his hands dipped down to slip between Waylon’s crack and he fingered gently at his hole until a bead of slick oozed out, “Just because you don’t have heats or bear me child after child… to me you’re still perfect.”

“Smooth-talking Alpha,” Waylon grinned back at him, kissing him languidly and grinding their crotches together while Eddie’s fingers explored deeper and deeper and…

“Darl—” Eddie grunted suddenly, cock pulsing uncontrollably for a moment before cumming everywhere between them. His massive chest was heaving as he swallowed down lungful’s of air. Waylon looked down at him curiously, quickly getting with the program and bringing himself to release with Eddie’s fingers still probing gently inside him.

“What was that, Ed?” he queried as he ran a warm cloth over the Alpha’s stomach to clean up their mess.

“Sorry, Waylon, it’s…” he looked anywhere but at Waylon’s face, clearly embarrassed, “it’s been a while.”

And after it was out there, Waylon realised that it really had been awhile. He couldn’t even remember the last time they’d properly ‘done the deed’. Had it been months? A year? Surely they did something special last Christmas? Or had they? “We’ll have to change that, hm?” Waylon teased, but really he wasn’t sure just how they’d be able to change that. He didn’t want them to be traumatising their son, and pretty much all of the time Jesse was away at school, Waylon was at work.

“I’d certainly enjoy that,” Eddie sighed tiredly, apparently completely spent just because he got to… to what? Hump Waylon? It was kind of a great boost to his self-esteem. “Night, darling.”

When Jesse was seventeen, he came home and told them that he was almost-seeing someone at school, but that he wasn’t sure if he was ready to really ask them out officially yet. Waylon was somehow caught off-guard by the news, because, seriously, when did their tiny little baby son get to this age without him realising? The whole time Jesse was expounding the news and asking questions of them, Waylon was stuck really looking at their son. He’d really grown up at some point, like Waylon had glanced away for a moment and then suddenly his child was almost old enough to be an adult. Waylon could practically see the bits of each of them Jesse took genetically. He had Waylon’s eyes and hair colour, a bit lighter than Eddie’s, and he had an almost carbon-copy of Waylon’s nose, weird as that may be. He had grown into a build that wasn’t as massive and bulky as Eddie, but still noticeably larger than Waylon’s. He wasn’t as tall as either of them; he would probably end up being around the same height as Waylon when he was done growing. He’d also styled his hair at some point to mimic the slicked-back look that Eddie perfected. It was almost uncanny how similar to each of them he was.

“Whoever it is, I promise we’ll love them,” Waylon promised, but then had to tack onto the end his own disclaimer, “unless they’re taking advantage of you or are dangerous or—”

“Dad, stop,” Jesse groaned, but the way he said it just made Waylon smile fondly because it felt like he and Eddie had finally made it, somehow. That for some reason this moment that their son started showing a reasonable interest in finding a relationship and heading off to a reputable university was the moment that they’d been waiting for.

That night as Eddie and Waylon lay together on the couch watching the news while Jesse studied at the dining table, Michael Park came on. It had always been a defensive urge in the back of Waylon’s mind, thinking about his family slowly weaselling their way out of prison and back into society to hunt them down, but Miles hadn’t contacted them with any more warnings so he just imagined that there wasn’t any more imminent danger. The interviewer was asking him all kinds of inappropriate questions, but one stood out among them all as the most painful.

“And what do you have to say about your daughter, Jessica, and the findings in relation to her murder at the hands of Frank Manera?”

His face visibly darkened at the question, and Waylon was staring at his phone, just waiting for Miles to call him and tell him they had to move again after all these years.

“My wife and I have talked about it to some length,” he uttered ominously, “and I think—I think we can find it in ourselves to forgive him. He has to live with what he’s done now,” it’s almost obvious that he’s not talking about Frank, “and so do we. Enough families have been broken.”

Neither Eddie nor Waylon ever talk about it, they just change the channel and pretend like a massive weight wasn’t just lifted off of their shoulders.

It isn’t until Jesse turns eighteen, almost ready to exit home and tackle the world, that he brings himself to ask out his mystery crush and invite them home to meet Eddie and Waylon. The entire day is spent with Waylon telling Eddie: “Don’t panic!” followed by the pair of them running around madly trying to organise things into some semblance of order.

When the knock raps on their front door, almost like a death-knell, Waylon turns into a statue and Eddie slips and falls flat on his back.

“You guys are so weird,” Jesse declares, as if he, too, hasn’t been nervously pacing the living room for the past few hours, “Don’t worry, you’re going to like him.”

Him! Waylon’s brain explodes with just that little titbit of information because thus far Jesse has been decidedly locked-down on relinquishing even the most insignificant iota of information regarding his potential partner. And now they know it’s a ‘him!’, and Waylon is suddenly that much more nervous because… because men are terrible! But as he goes along that train of thought, he supposes women are terrible, too. Everybody is terrible, and now they’re going to have some terrible stranger seducing their son, taking him away from them. It’s going to be awful.

Eddie picks himself up off the ground, runs a hand through his still-glorious hair, and then comes to stand beside Waylon and grasp his hand in a circulation-cutting grip. Waylon’s not sure if it’s for Eddie’s comfort or his own that he’s doing it, but it helps.

Jesse opens the door and every inch of the stranger that Waylon sees makes his heart flip and his breath wheeze out of his chest. Jesse’s preferred man is pretty, skinny, a bit conqueringly tall, and is decently handsome… but there’s an elephant in the room.

“I suppose I should have told you he’s a Beta,” Jesse acknowledges, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly with one hand while his other comes to link with the Beta beside him.

Waylon drags his eyes away from the scene to shake away any feelings of déjà vu that are intruding on his consciousness. The look on Eddie’s face is unlike anything Waylon has seen before, and it looks nothing short of terrified, and the Omega’s hand is being squeezed so hard it might just come off.

After a moment, Eddie’s neck turns, he makes eye contact with Waylon, and he mouths one word: “Fuck.”

Waylon can’t help but agree, but he grins. In spite of the potential for events repeating themselves, he feels like they’ve somehow succeeded as parents if their son can do something like this at such a young age when it took Eddie and himself well into their twenties. He squeezes Eddie’s hand back as hard as he can and mutters just loudly enough for the two of them, “Here we go again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for whoever's made it this far! This is (noticeably) the longest thing I've uploaded to this site. Hopefully you've enjoyed, because even though I went in all kinds of directions while writing this, I feel like where it's ended up is pretty much where I wanted it to.
> 
> Thank you also for being so patient with me as I write this, and for putting up with any of my errors cause I pretty much never read over anything I write (until tonight, when I'll go through and read over each chapter once and fix any continuity errors and etc). I honestly didn't look at this fic for a few months and then wrote this chapter yesterday and today.
> 
> If you have any questions or any feedback then I'd really appreciate it! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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